Wisdom of Katha Upanishad

 

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[Music] to be young kind of all the generously

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hey Thomas do we have clock caught up I

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can just get a clock and just put it here so welcome to the first of three

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sessions on the katha upanishad this session and the one in the afternoon in

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the evening today and the one in the morning tomorrow so do try to attend all

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three if possible it's package D the

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core of Vedanta are the Upanishads they are the the form part of the most

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ancient living religion of humanity the Vedic religion and the opening chefs

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form part of the Vedas the highest philosophical teachings of the Vedas are

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found in the Upanishads among all the Upanishads and there are many 108

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definitely and there many more but among all of these 10 Upanishads are of

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particular importance probably because some 1,400 years ago adi shankaracharya the great philosopher

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nan duelist philosopher he selected 10

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of these to write commentaries on bashyam and these 10 opening shots with

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adi shankaracharya commentary they found the basis of

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it is in fact from these opening shots that Shri Shri Krishna thought Arjuna in

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the bhagavad-gita in fact the message of the Gita is the same as the message of

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the Upanishads maybe in a more practical way Shri Krishna selected in fact in some of the

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verses in the bhagavad-gita you find the ones just taken almost verbatim from the

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cut rope initial one Swami was saying that Shri Krishna without any

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attribution but without any kind of reference you know coolly plagiarized

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everything the vanity non copyrighted and he coated them so carefully in in

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the in the bhagavad-gita so the bhagavad-gita is also one of the core

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texts the part of the vedanta canon the core literature of advaita vedanta

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vedanta and the philosophical issues arising from the Upanishads are

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discussed threadbare in another text called the brahma sutra those are

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cryptic in the sutra form aphoristic form 555 sutras where which discusses

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all the questions that we may have when we listen to the opposition's opening shots are inspired poetic bhagavad-gita

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is more like um like a sermon like a practical teaching how to apply it in

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life and Brahma sutras are philosophical so the Upanishads the bhagavad-gita and

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the Brahma sutras together they are known as the pressed on a tree on the threefold foundational texts of Vedanta

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Upanishads bhagavad-gita and Brahma sutras now the ten Upanishads there's a

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nice little verse in Uttarakhand where they study it so they they had the ten Upanishads in other words he gotta brush

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nah you know it moon demand okay theory he later a young church and opium

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prahara Nia come Taha just a way of memorizing the names of the open issues

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so he shop initial ten open Ishod katha Upanishad fresh nope initial disturb and

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then I Turia type T reopen Isha chandogya real arnica commando Kim among

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all of them maybe the most popular might be the one which we are going to take up

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today it's also very simple it's also very interesting and comprehensive cut

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rope initially it was certainly Swami Vivekananda's favorite he would quote often from it especially when he came to

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this country and he gave talks in the late nineteenth century last decade of the 19th century he would often quote

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from the cut rope initial and he would praise in high it would give high praise to its sense of poetry philosophy the

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ethics so cut rope initial he would recommend it to his disciples to memorize it the carbonation even now in

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Swami Vivekananda's birthday every year in balloon mud in the room where he lived because he liked classical music

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so much so early in the morning noted classical musicians they come and sing there and one of the things that's done

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there is a beautiful chanting of the control condition that's also done every every every year so what I'll do is I

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have selected some verses from the control condition and we will take it in three stages in the first stop today we

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shall learn about the foundational teachings of Couture finish and how we prepare for spiritual life and perhaps

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this is the most important of the three talks because this if we get it right at

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least to some extent the rest is not so difficult the second will be after the

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preparation initial preparation investigating the self how do I realize

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this self which we daren't the promises mean that I am this immortal self existence consciousness bliss how do I

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realize that a process will be taken up process of investigating Who am I and

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the third talk will be on the self itself what is the nature of the type

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image reality that will be maybe the most abstract of the three tops that will be tomorrow so many of the

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Upanishads they are based on a story see they are often in the form of dialogues

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between guru and shisha a spiritual master and the student something in the fall but dialogue is

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very easy to learn because it's in the form of questions and answers discussions so we also find often the

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questions we have in our minds are being asked by the student and the teacher gives answers to that one of the most

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popular books of Swami Vivekanand there is the talks with sowing Vivekananda was his disciple Sharad Chandra asked so

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many good questions and he took care to note down what strong they become the said in his diary so that's part of the

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complete works of Americans and many people love that and next to that letter so there is a living touch of a

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spiritual master when a book a lecture is a little more impersonal but your in

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your life writing a letter that's more personal and when you are actually talking with someone someone puts

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questions to you and you give answers that's most personal so the Upanishads are in that form form of question and

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answer and cut open we should also it like that and that is made more

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interesting with a story so often there's a little story added to the opener ship this story is a story of a

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little boy Nachi kata who Shankaracharya estimates was in his preteens so maybe ten not

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eleven years old or something like that and it's ancient India the Vedic India

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this was before the era of temples and poachers at that time religion meant big

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sacrifices fire sacrifices where the priests would light up a fire and

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put offerings into it chanting hymns to the Vedic gods that was the original form of Vedic Hinduism and such a fire

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sacrifice is the scene where this begins the hero of our stories little boy

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called Nikita so he's a well-known character in Hinduism one of the most

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ancient I would say maybe he was the first Vedanta student you're all without

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the students now so we are all in the lineage of national educator he is the

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first batch aluminum so he representing

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all of us he asks these questions which you find in all the Upanishads and in the Gita and after that down till today

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even something that shirechin grasped Swami Vivekananda similar questions and the teacher is none other than the god

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of death god of death Yama now really terrifying teacher so but we

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are getting ahead of ourselves now the fire sacrifice is going on and nachi

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katha is there and his father is conducting this fire of sacrifice the different kinds of sacrifices one of

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these sacrifices was that you perform a big ritual and you give away everything

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everything means everything whatever you own you give everything away and you start afresh why would anybody do that

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what was the purpose of these fire sacrifices the idea in ancient India was

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not very different from what we have got today conventional religion means having a

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good life here and a good life hereafter so good life here would mean you'd be

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healthy and be prosperous you'll have good relationships you'll be happy here have a good family life and hereafter

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would mean heaven and the Indians don't have just one heaven they have many many heavens so there are superior and

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inferior grades of heavens and depending on how much merit we have got in the in

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the bank in the cosmic bank how much good we have done how much merit we have earned you get to go to the higher

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heavens you can go to Malibu or you can go to Hawaii and go further and further of him

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better and better places or Fiji or something like that so there are higher heavens that was the idea of religion

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and it is more or less so we have progressed in knowledge and in technology but not much more in wisdom

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even till today all over the world whether you go to a Hindu temple or to a

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Christian Church here most of the times you will find what is being promised there is a good life happiness now a

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good nice life here real spirituality

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comes after that it's a search for truth in Hinduism the idea is you can go to

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these heavens but they are all impermanent if the heavens are something like an endless party you're partying

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all the time but as you know too much chasing too much pleasure after sometime nothing is pleasing anymore Summerset

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mom writes that if you change pleasure single-mindedly very soon you find nothing freezing anymore after that a question comes to

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the human soul it is this all that there is all success we get in life a

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beautiful life here and maybe the promise of heaven afterwards that's also

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kind of extended good life but what is the meaning of all of this what is the

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truth behind this game this goes round and round once your merit is finished once you

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have exhausted all all the medicube earned by these sacrifices you come back from heaven and back here again and if

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you want to go to that heaven again again you have to earn a lot of milk by this sacrifice or that sacrifice something so Vedanta starts with a

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search for wisdom beyond this heaven concept good life here happy life in

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heaven but beyond that is what is there what is the reality of this universe Who

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am I is there any permanent peace and happiness to be had so that search is

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spirituality the search for God the search for the truth about oneself search for the truth

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about this universe which we are experiencing whether it's here or in heaven whatever so that will come in the open issues

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before that is the the realm of desired sacrifices karma kanda Upanishads are

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what are called a onaconda the realm of knowledge the portion dealing with knowledge so here you find the

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transition note you caters father is performing a big sacrifice by which he hopes to go to some high heaven and

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educate the watches the rituals being performed and all the guests have come you have to feed the guests and you have

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to give away all your possessions to the guests everything but no chiquita find

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something strange he finds his dad is giving away lots of things and in those

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days were wealth meant cattle well meant cattle and that's not so strange in this

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country just about 100 years ago wealth meant cattle about 150 years ago yes so

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so farmland and cattle into that Smith you had the whole culture of cowboys and

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all so in the in Vedic times also wealth and to for a long time in India weldment

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cattle now nachiketa saw what his dad was doing was he had kept all the good

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cows hidden away and the cows which had become old if you're not giving milk which would not give cows and all those

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he was donating and the guest probably knew what he was doing but what could they do they were polite and you have to

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take it away unless he gets a solid his father and dad was cheating this is giving away the stuff he didn't need and

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he says to his dad whom will you give me

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to and your son so you're going to give everything away right so whom will you give me to and at first is that doesn't

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respond and then is being asked three times then his dad gets annoyed and he

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says victory to Adhamiya t I give you to debt it's more or less like here you say

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go to hell something like that I give you to death and that Chiquita says some very

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interesting hard-hitting truths to his dad before he goes up into the land of death because he's that I sent him to

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death so he goes away to the land of death it's okay I'll go to that but before that he says importance of being

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honest he says what is the use of all these rituals

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unless one means it whether they're true or not comes later but you say you

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believe it and you are doing it and you want some results and yet you're doing it half-heartedly you really don't mean it and then he

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says look at life it gives us short sermon on the the transience of life

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this is all mostly in biblical terms you know in in the in the in the Bible you

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find look upon the corn of the field they are here today are not I'm not they are not here tomorrow in the same

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way nothing greater says look upon this corn that I think twas such him look

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upon this all these fields these plants they come they aren't here today and

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tomorrow they're cut down our lives are they any more than this so when life is

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so temporary and fleeting what is the point of trying to save this little bit for myself and give away the other this

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this kind of dishonesty our look at the way our ancestors have live and live

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their lives should we not come up to that standard at least and then he decides to go up to

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the land of death because his dad is told him to go to death and you know it openly share this poetry so the little

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boy goes to the land of death and then death is out he's a busy man

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he's a busy God because there's so many people dying all right it requires a personal attention so he's on tour and I

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think his assistants tell her Chiquita you have to mate he's not another at home so no she kisses all day would you

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like to have something tea or coffee or something like that I'm not making it up entirely I'm making a little bit it's

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not tea or coffee he did not eat they asked him would you like to have something to eat he says no

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I'll wait until death comes back I have to talk to him three days and three

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nights little boy waited at the door of death without eating now when death comes back his assistants

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maybe they say he must be looking over I had to catch up what all the work

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paperwork that's piled up or what's the marks they are on the table you know this and that and and there's this

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little boy waiting for you very obstinate little kid he's come here and he wants to talk to you it seems you can

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see the assistance of death sort of rolling their eyes debts and he said

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that was a boy so obstinate didn't he eat he's sitting there for three days so death rushes are all times

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you know greets the little boy and he says that a little child you've been

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waiting here three days and three nights waiting for me it's a great signify if a guest comes to the house and you do not

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feed the guest so I'll give you three boons whoever you are

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I'll give you the three boons no Chiquita introduces himself and he's

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very happy he's got three boons you can ask for any three things so the first thing that netiquette asks now you

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can see the story so touching in this little kid so what he's really worried

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about is his dad being mad at him so the first thing he asks death is when I go

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back home let my dad not be mad at me let it let him be pleased with me now

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see how clever he is Shankar Acharya points it out nobody comes back from the

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land of death so he could he could have asked that you know the first bonus okay

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let me be alive again let me go back to my life as a kid in my dad's home he

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didn't ask that he said when I go back taken for granted there's this man to whom God appeared

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and after a lot of austerities and said what do you want and he said let me eat

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with my grandson on on golden plates he's already asked for three boons in

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one boon that they'll have a lot he'll have a long life because he's going to see his grandson and he's going to have

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a child and grandchildren but a second go and third is they're going to be sorry seventeen eater on gold plates so

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well and children and long life is going on as for all of it in one sentence so naughty kata is as clever as that he

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asks for that when I go back let my father recognize me let him be pleased with me let him not

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be mad with me anymore and you can imagine Yama the fierce god of death maybe a faint little smile

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maybe his might in a little and he said all right your father will be very happy

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to see you when you go back good that's done important things out of the way the

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second thing you asks for is what's the best fire sacrifice because I see all the grown-up people and it's like today

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people are going to temples or churches and all and so in those days all the grown-up people were performing these

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sacrifices so what's the best sacrifice by which I can go to the like the highest heaven best whatever kids today

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would say and Yama teaches him a particular file sacrifice and Yama is so

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happy with him he says from now on this fire sacrifice will be called nachiket Agni will be named after you and he

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teaches him that soul educators gets that also out of the way conventional religion best that can be had in life

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then he comes to the real question the third question and Yama says ask what

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what more do you want I don't want anything but there's something I want to know there's a question about life and

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death about the self what is the truth today kids would say in America

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give me like like give me the truth you know I want to know what what really exists

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I remember in ramakrishna mission Delhi where there was a brahmacari

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and their little by staged up play once on the Chiquita and Yama this is a

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well-known play in India sometimes schoolchildren staged it so yeah my own magic ater and the months there help the

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children to set up the play so they set it up but they didn't rehearse to them

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and I remember swami atmost an on the G mothers who is now the president he's very ill now but he was at that time the

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general secretary of the order he was visiting so just set up in his honor and they were teachers and they were the

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students guardians the parents would come to see the play about an audience of 500 or 600 people and the kids set it

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up but it was a disaster they forgot their lines and of course the audience

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enjoyed it solidly but the kids were sweating they were like somehow let it and let it come to an end and there was

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a Swami what helped them to set it up and he has said the most important verses into the play was in Hindi but

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the most important verses when they'll be the penalty come and I will chant it in sanskrit at that time the actors the

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kids should just stay there on the stage from the background i'll play the harmonium and chant it in sanskrit and

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when the time came for the first important verse the kids are standing there and we leave her in the backstage

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in looking on well that swami not to be found at that time he's going to take a washroom break at that time and the kids

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are standing there waiting for the Sanskrit chanting to come there looking like this and and the audience is in splits you know they are clapping and

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hooting so it was a disaster so it time came for a third boon to be asked and

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the kid who was playing Yama another bad Caitlin over well-built and hefty kid

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looking specially Spears he says well the Chiquita asked for the third boon and somebody in

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the audience shouted that tell him I don't want anything at least this thing will come to an end this place

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we will be saved of the further torture so nachiket asks this question this

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beautiful question the fundamental spiritual question really I am pretty

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basic it's a minutiae a stick taking I am Musti teach I kill a tad viddhi Aman

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Ashish destroyer hung varnish of or a sweetie this is one 120 if you have got

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the book you don't have to follow in the book I just tell you some of you have got the books I just mentioned which

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verse I am referring to which mantra and referring to one dot one dot twenty this

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is where the Upanishads really starts with the question what's the meaning of

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this question Nachi creator says to Yama I have a question I don't want anything anymore but I have a question I have a doubt and

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everybody has to start after death some people say that we exist some people say

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we don't exist and I would like to know the truth about the self nature of the

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self this is my third boon now we have to be careful what he is asking remember

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he was part of the Vedic culture in various accepted that after that you do exist in some form because you go to

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heaven after all you are performing all these sacrifices for going to heaven so religion every religion

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accepts that there is some existence after death post-mortem existence if everything is

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finished and that there's no need of religion that becomes just materialism

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so all forms of religion every religion the world will say that we have

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something after death that is there so now you get also knew this and he believed it but what he was asking is

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not this ritualistic kind of thing you know where you perform some rituals and then you go to heaven and you come back

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again that's all right but what is the reality about the self who am I am in

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this body nachiket and then this body will die will go to heaven will come back again whatever but

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who is this reality what is the nature of this self that is the question is

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asking and that is the subject matter of the Upanishads the very word Upanishad

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this control finish is also important because Shankar Acharya and his beautiful commentary and cut off initially he begins with an explanation

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of the word Upanishad here you find the detailed explanation of the word open Isha I will not go into that but

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basically the word open Ishod means brahma vidya the knowledge of brahman

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spiritual knowledge in products simply knowledge about the ultimate reality that is the meaning of the word

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definition and Shankar Acharya says the book open it should be the secondary meaning we say we are reading cut or

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finisher then you when we say we're reading katha Upanishad have you got a copy of the cattle Phoenicians then

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you're talking about a book you are not talking about spirit and knowledge you know talking about having a copy of the knowledge you're talking about the book

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so the book is in secondary sense it's called an open issue the real sense of the word Upanishad is brahma vidya an

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introduction you can see Sankara serious community how he derives the meaning brahma Vidya the knowledge of Brahman

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from the world open Isha and this is the question he asks yama and then follows a

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long period i'm several personal mantras where yama tempts nachi kata moment

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nachiket asked this question yama sort of is startled this little kid asked me

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such a question is you don't need to know this no need to know you don't need to know this lets you get a sense that's

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my only question look boy I have I've got so many other things to offer you

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you have no idea you're a kid there's so many enjoyments you don't live long you

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want to have children and grandchildren you want to rule over a kingdom it all

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of that is in my power you say just say the word you will get it but don't ask this question you want something beyond all this

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people you up your diet is performing these sacrifices to go to heaven so all the things which he hopes to get get

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which he believes you will get in heaven I can give it to you in this life itself now III charlemagne Yamanashi the yama

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yama says to an educator human beings mortal man cannot think of such

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enjoyment they died didn't even think of such enjoyment it's so much beyond their

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ability to think of all those enjoyments I'll give to you he says prior chunga's brought they are

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such under the practice were sequential you make a list like a Christmas you the

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things which I want make a list of whatever you want his perpetual Christmas for you there's no limit to

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what you can ask for so ask for these and don't ask me the question he wants

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to see what educators reaction is most people we would say that okay I want

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both I want all those things and the question also and if you are first to it

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many of you stood back or you know if you forced to it given a choice this are the question make up your mind so okay

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I'll ask the question later and maybe they're books I can always read it up but let me I can't get these things

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anywhere else I can always go to an attentive aide on the class and find out these things for me but all the nice

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things goodies is offering let me get that that won't get that in life Nachi kata is not food he says whatever you

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are offering me at the end of it all you are there death I will die you are not

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saying that I'll become immortal I will die whatever you offer me it comes to an

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end and when it comes to an end it's as good as it was never there at that

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moment when it's all gone money is gone relatives wife and children and husband

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and they're all gone grandchildren are all gone when the job is gone health is gone name and fame people have forgotten

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me I'm an old and dead and dying at that moment it's as good as as if all of that

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never happened just memories for me people are forgotten about it that's it

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so it's no good offering me all these things you are there and then he also says serving 3 our

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ninja Ryan theater all these things which you offer me food drink and be

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merry our capacity to enjoy is limited our capacity to enjoy is limited you

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know I love books so I've been accumulating books when I came to the United States I thought I don't have to

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give up all my books and but luckily some books were being transported from

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India to USA by ship to our Center in Los Angeles so a few more crates was no

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problem for girls I could send them over free by ship so I decided to select the books I I wanted to keep and send them

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over when I was selecting them I found to my horror so many books which I had not read years ago I purchased them away

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I know it's there I have not read it but I hope to read it in future so it's there and I was reading karma yoga by

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Swami Vivekananda at that time and I saw at that very moment so I mean very

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kindly sane a fool may accumulate all the books in the world he will read only

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those he deserves to read so I decided I

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stopped buying books and start reading the ones I've got right now which have transported be great difficult but not

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just books anything how much can you eat how many varieties of ice cream can you

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eat how many types of cars can you write up how many places a vacation can you go

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to it's enormous choice especially in this country in the United States of the

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20th and 21st century you have more choice than was available to humanity

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earlier in earlier times maybe a few kings and queens had choice most people

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did not have much choice but what you will consume now where you will stay what you will wear where you will go and

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visit how you will live what job you will do such tremendous choice is there

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today right now today how you entertain yourself tremendous choice is there so

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this variety but how much can you consume how much

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can you consume very little of it because we don't have that capacity to consume so an educator says serving

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three on each aren t th er all the sensory systems decay and deteriorate

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and over our overloaded very fast when you try to enjoy life it's no good I

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want that and he's cheeky is a little kid so he's a little cheeky to the to Yama

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and he says Dalai Lama ha Dominic Tahiti yum I promised I will give you Evan Lee

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chariots and singing and dancing and musical instruments and things like that I'm the Chiquita says the value of our

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hominid ability keep your chariots and dancing and singing to yourself you go

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and sing and dance I want an answer to this question you use that language because there's a kid and Yama is so

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pleased he's not annoyed he says I wish I had more students like you so you

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would be so hot yellow would be so happy to see so many students like yeah I'm a ticket I here know who have given up a

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nice weekend you could have a relax and watch TV at home when you come to attend debate on the class so that's what Emma

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wants that you want to you give up the the transient pleasures of life and seek

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wisdom so not Chiquita does that and Yama is very happy and says I wish I had

34:02

more students like you and then Yama starts the teaching I'll go back and

34:08

forth a little bit I'll tell you where I'm selecting about what I'm reading

34:15

Yama's teaching starts from the second canto but what I am reading now is one

34:24

three four one three four one point three point four non-retina midi sherry

34:35

rum rotten eva to put him to solder

34:40

timothy manna program IVA

34:46

indriyani high on our who wish a youngster should go char on Hartman

34:55

dreamin oh you dumb poked a yahoo Manisha huh I translate and then we will

35:04

all read it together this is the takeaway from today's lecture that's why I want you to repeat it what it means is

35:15

Yama says to nachiket ah he gives him a model a structure a

35:23

conceptual structure to think about himself think about yourself as the

35:30

passenger in a chariot the body is the chariot the horses are the same sagas

35:39

the horses which pull the Chinese are five horses five sense organs and the

35:46

paths their horses are running it's a very strange kind of car which runs on five lanes at the same time don't do it

35:52

you'll get a ticket here but this this car it runs on five lanes eyes run on

35:58

the on the path of forms the scene yours here tongue tastes no smells and skin

36:07

touches the five sense organs run on five sense objects and the mind is the

36:14

reins with which it charioteer holds the horses the mind is connected to these

36:20

horses the five sense organs and the intellect is the driver would the

36:27

intellect is the driver who holds the steering wheel the mind is like the steering wheel of the car and the wheels

36:32

of the car are like the sense sense organs and the driver is the is the

36:39

intellect and who are you normal anything that's what we are he says you

36:45

are none of this you are not the body you are not the sense organs you're not the mind you're not even the intellect

36:52

your mind which thinks I am now listening to a talk by Swami the internet which is trying to

36:57

understand in Upanishad you are none of them you are quite apart from them

37:02

you're quite apart from the body - you are the passenger in the body and in the

37:08

in the chariot at Marathi no moon didn t know yourself to D to be deep passenger

37:16

sitting in the back you ever you're rich you have a shopper the intellect who's

37:21

driving the car of your body through the path of life you are that that that

37:27

person there and this model is what he teaches Nachiketa so let's repeat this person and with this mantra we'll go

37:34

into it ma teaming with the Atman

37:42

latinum degree sharir imrat amoeba -

37:49

Sharon rock amoeba to put into solemn

37:55

duty would dim to solemn with mana

38:02

practically whattcha whattcha indriyani

38:10

high on our injury re higher

38:16

vishal youngster sugar on Beyonce shugo

38:22

chara Hendry Amma no yoga more yoga poke

38:32

take your money Sheena Sheena what does

38:40

it mean at mother yourself retinol with D know yourself to be the passenger in

38:46

the chariot shareer imrat amoeba to simple sanskrit body is the chariot but

38:53

dim to salat in with thee let the know the intellect which is thinking right now which is trying to understand this

38:59

right now remember that's the driver it's not you it's not you it's the

39:05

driver mana practically immature so what's the wheel which the driver is holding its the mind mind is the range

39:11

which connects it to the horses what are the horses indriyani hyah hyah horse the

39:20

sense organs are called horses vishaya and Stacia boats are on the sense

39:26

objects are the paths they run along Atman Briana no yoke Tom hooked it Yahoo

39:32

Manisha how do you become an experiencer you the self who you really are remember

39:40

nachiket has asked Who am I really what's the truth here what's going on here you what you really are with the

39:48

mind and the intellect in the body using the senses you are called bhakta Volta

39:55

means the experiencer something translated as enjoy but need not only be enjoyment only we can be suffering

40:01

mostly suffering Bach thumb is the one who enjoys and suffers suffers enjoys

40:07

and suffers what this world when all the time it's what you call life the life which

40:15

were leading now is you having forgotten what you really are identified with the

40:22

it's like a person who's sitting in the car and forgotten the teaser he the passenger he thinks and the whole

40:28

car the car and the wheels and the intellect the driver and then the

40:34

steering wheel all of that I am and now driving along the pathways of life he's

40:39

forgotten his own separate existence that's what you are now yama will use this to describe the

40:51

fundamentals of spiritual life what he will say I'm not going to the verses what he will say basically is this these

40:59

three are important the horses in the chariot the mind which holds the horses

41:06

in check and the driver the charioteer these three are important pay attention

41:12

to them your intellect the driver the wheel which is used to control the car

41:17

and the car itself the weasel the sense

41:23

organs the horses which the horses have to be good the mind has to be good and

41:30

the intellect has to be good he says what it means to be good and how do you train them and how do you perfect them we will see if those are in shape then

41:39

you will reach the your goal in life if those are out of order all your efforts

41:44

will be sabotage your efforts in spiritual life even your efforts in secular life everything will be sabotage

41:52

if those three are not in order you see let's take them from outside in

42:03

inverts the sense organs first what we

42:09

see what we taste and what we hear there's this professor of psychology

42:17

here in America Jonathan hate hid t hide hide I think he's written this book

42:25

their happiness hypothesis it sounds like one of those new self-help books but it's a pretty serious work actually

42:31

he takes up this very interesting question we all want to change we all

42:36

want to be good we all want our lives to be better but

42:42

why is it that after reading so many books listening to so many lectures doing so many practices we really don't

42:49

seem to change much if you go out to the books book shops now one of the richest

42:55

and well-stocked sections will be the self-help section so many books which

43:02

promise that you can revolutionize your life you can have friends you can communicate better you can manage your

43:07

time you can you can lose weight you can you can meditate you can be absolutely

43:14

fit all those things are promised and all of it in seven days they promise you

43:22

all of that and it's easy and it can be done fast if that's so true why isn't it

43:29

working that's the question he asks and the answer he guessed is very interesting he

43:35

says we are not an integrated personality we have an intellect you can

43:44

map it to what yama says thousands of years ago before Jonathan height he says even intellect but we also have sense

43:50

organs and he says a good model look at

43:55

the model he gives a good model is like a man riding on an elephant the elephant

44:00

rider he gives that model you see the elephant rider that the Maheu

44:06

the person who controls the elephant he understands where he wants to go he can read a map the elephant cannot read the

44:14

map and the elephant is not interested in your map now if the elephant listens

44:20

to the instructions given by the Maha the mouth will reach the destination if the elephant does not listen if the

44:26

elephant is not in a listening mood the elephant is much stronger than the mouth the Mahad cannot drag the elephant where

44:32

he wants to go the elephant is going to win every time if the element wants to go there eat bananas from the shop it

44:37

will do that you can't stop it it's an elephant after all exactly like that the

44:44

intellect is convinced by books the intellect is convinced by talks

44:50

the moment you read a very nice book to get up early in the morning and do yoga

44:55

your life will be much better you can this and it's true it's not false it's true if you were able to get up in early

45:02

in the morning and do yoga every day within a few weeks months years your life would be measurably better it's

45:08

true it's not false but why can't we do it the reason is the intellect doesn't

45:14

have to do the yoga the yoga is supposed to be done by the body and the body has

45:21

its own intelligence it's like the elephant the body has a certain height points it out our body has an autonomous

45:29

intelligence we actually neuroscience is beginning to show even the gut has its own intelligence everywhere in the body

45:35

where there are clusters of nerves nerve centers there is an autonomous intelligence functioning they're quite

45:43

apart from the intellect and that is like the elephant he does not respond to

45:48

books there is an e there is an intelligence in the tongue in the sense

45:54

organs it does not respond to the died chart it has got its own agenda that

46:02

chart is convinced your intellect but he does not convinced your tongue tongue doesn't read those bad charts it's

46:10

interested in the experience it gets when it eats that you know chocolate fudge or something that's what is

46:17

interested in yes and it has a power of its own like the elephant it controls

46:23

action what it will do the tongue it's

46:30

my business what I eat after all I'm going to do eating the fancy intellect is not going to do the eating so I'll

46:36

eat what I like you tell the intellect you read will read what you like but what I eat is my

46:43

business after lying on the one who doing the eating one person was saying a

46:51

minute I'm seeing few taste buds a

46:57

cluster of primitive cells on on my

47:03

tongue not the whole time just a part of the time dragging a mountain of a man into a pie

47:09

shop this huge strong guy may be a biker

47:16

I saw that huge bike parked outside a bar and this big guy the beer and huge

47:23

guy you know he's going in there to stuff himself with food and drink who's

47:30

pulling him along look a tiny bit of sense pulling him along I saw myself in a we had gone to visit

47:36

all gentlemen in a rehabilitation centre assisted living center and outside in

47:43

the of the smoking area there was this man sitting on a wheelchair sick and

47:51

history is there to smoke a cigarette now I'm thinking look at this look at

47:59

this power of that the taste the experience of having a smoke it says to

48:06

the body and mind I know they were sick I know you can hardly raise your hand but you have to smoke it's my demand I

48:15

remember I saw a movie long time ago it was about a ghost as a kid at that time

48:23

this is a Hollywood movie I never thought I'll come and live in Hollywood now the story was the person is dead and

48:30

he's to smoke a lot and the way they have shown it is healed like a faint

48:36

mist now like a man who goes for something misty and he's standing in front of a cigarette vending machine in

48:43

a train station and trying to grab a packet of cigarettes but he can't he cannot grab anything physical in this

48:48

world because he doesn't have a body desperately trying to grab that by

48:54

seeing that even as a kid I studied a little bit of Vedanta but what struck me

48:59

was no wonder that Vedanta says it's our desires which forced us into newer and

49:07

newer words what that person that ghost needs at that moment is a body more than anything else he wants a body do you

49:15

think who'd want to be born in this world have suffered enough we do we demand to

49:20

be born in this world we think we right now he said I know I wouldn't want to weren't born in this world just you wait

49:26

when the body is not there the first thing we want again the ordinary no no I said to God a new body

49:31

what can poor not do gives us a new body ok go out and play so the senses have their own agenda and

49:40

Jonathan Hyde points it out intellect understands intellect has its plans it's

49:47

died charts it's rumored daily should you land to do lists the body has its own thing I want to wake up early in the

49:53

morning intellect agrees it would be a good thing but early in the morning it's the body which has to come out of the

49:58

blankets into the inner and out of the comforter into the freezing cold I don't have to tell you about freezing cold

50:04

here in Cedar Rapids so the body refuses tells thing to like you keep your fancy

50:10

ideas I'm not getting out into that cold now I want to sleep a little more so what Jonathan Hyde says what does the

50:18

elephant respond to the important question is what does the elephant respond to the elephant responds to

50:26

training the elephant responds to have it in training what do you train as an

50:32

elephant to do or any other animal to do training it is not reading when you train a dog or an elephant or whatever

50:40

any animal or shop or the shampoo the veil or whatever they are trained through reward and Punishment and

50:46

through different protocols to respond to injury new habits in them not new

50:53

ideas so the senses have to be trained

50:58

Yama just says Yama and in this he says if your horses are good then you will

51:04

reach your goal the passenger will reach is goal and if the horses are not good will be derailed go off track in the

51:12

same way the senses have to be trained did not respond to arguments they do not

51:18

respond to books they do not respond to good intentions they do not respond to Vedanta lectures if their intellect

51:26

which responds but the senses respond to training so since senses have to be trained

51:33

getting up early in the morning you have to make a habit out of it practicing yoga every day you have to

51:40

make a habit out of it eating healthy if to make a habit out of it daily habit of

51:45

study the interest of studying the scriptures or wait on the opening shots make a habit out of it

51:51

you see in the lives of all great spiritual practitioners they all had

51:56

strong good habits how to replace bad habits with good habits is a science in

52:03

itself and I just recommend the latest book very nice book has been written recently the power of habit Charles

52:10

Duhigg D u hig G power of habit using modern psychology positive psychology a

52:17

very scientific method very nice way they approached it how do you break out of bad habits how do you generate and

52:24

set up good habits but the point here is at the sensory level it has its own intelligence remember it's the elephant

52:30

the body and the senses they have to be trained once it is trained it's very

52:38

interesting just as bad habits are difficult to overcome good habits are also difficult to break you may be

52:46

amazed at this person who gets up so early in the morning spends hours in meditation you ask that person he says I

52:52

cannot help it I'd be quite unhappy if I did not do it it's become a habit over

52:57

years a Swami who was in the ICU about

53:03

to die in a few days time old Swami we heard the story now in the ICU in the

53:09

hospital you cannot make out whether it's day or night it's all these lights are on and the

53:14

nurses of the busy moving around and we're surrounded by sick people dying people and the doctors said the nurses

53:21

said they're on duty that the Swami would get up exactly at 3:40 in the morning

53:27

I don't know how you didn't have a cop you'd get up you would struggle up in

53:33

the bed like this and start repeating the mantra habet a lifelong habit 4050 years of

53:42

doing that it's become a habit he's not putting forward an enormous amount of willpower I have to get up and meditate

53:49

even though I am dying I have to do that no it's become automatic now so the

53:55

sense is at the level of senses very important desires operate at the level

54:01

of senses at the level of the mind at the level of the intellect so the level of senses we have to train them and in

54:10

training at least one thing I've mentioned a good routine is necessary stick to the good routine sitting in for

54:16

meditation early in the morning and evening repeating the mantra for the Guru has given whatever spiritual

54:21

practice we have been initiated into you we all know that guru has told us to make a habit out of it so a habit of

54:28

sitting down at the same time you'll find the mind comes down at the same time it gets ready for meditation it's a

54:33

creature of habit body is a creature of habit the senses are a creature of habit now we come one step deeper the mind

54:42

itself mana - it's like the wheel in the hand of the driver it's what controls the senses

54:51

your wheels of the car are perfect they are all in running order senses are well

54:57

trained but what happened why is the car going this way and that way you know the driver sits down to drive the car and

55:02

the wheel comes up in his hand how could you go in to drive the wheel is not connected properly mind why at the level

55:12

of mine what does Yama recommend he recommends that senses ought to be trained the horses are to be trained the

55:18

mind he says some a nazca he says some a nazca the sanskrit words america is

55:24

literally translated into a word which is familiar to most people today especially those who are interested in

55:30

Buddhism some anezka literally translates into mindfulness into

55:36

mindfulness you see we live our lives in a fog of unawareness most of the time we

55:45

are operating on default what are you doing how are you sitting are you aware of it what are you thinking

55:52

are you aware of it what do you what are you stalking are you aware of it no we

55:57

are not conscious we are always slipping off no when we see in this old slapstick

56:03

comedy movies somebody slips on a banana and falls down with laughing squirrel but he laughs well we are always

56:10

slipping on the banana peel we are slipping up into the past or into the future all the time all the time we are

56:18

operating in the mode of what if he firmly what if this happens or what if

56:27

that happens and if only if only I'd said this if only had done that if only

56:32

had taken this job instead of that job if only I'd married this person instead of that person if only I had gone to

56:38

this place instead of that that place and so on if only regrets about the past things

56:44

thinking about the past it's gone it's gone and thinking about the future

56:52

anxieties hopes expectations about the future the continuously slipping off

56:58

never here and now mindfulness is being here and now Salman asked our awareness

57:07

one thing that the desires our samskaras hate is light being thrown upon them

57:16

our samskaras the inherent tendencies you know how they are found at first it

57:22

comes up as a thought or it comes up as something we see or something we taste not so important then next day the mind

57:31

begins to dwell on it that person behaved suppose somebody behaves badly with you at first you are

57:37

surprised and nothing much but in the mind begins to dwell dwell on it I'm the injustice of it I didn't do

57:45

anything to that person why did that person be why was he rude to me people are always taking advantage of me and

57:50

the rude I should be more assertive mind starts dwelling upon it resentment base up and the next time you

57:58

see somebody are attracting that way irritation comes down a flash of irritation and then anger

58:04

and it becomes a pattern becomes a pattern greed

58:12

it doesn't nothing starts with greed even the most tastiest food are the things which we like we get a little bit

58:18

of it this is a feeling it's nice that's the beginning and then mind dwells on it

58:24

it would be nice to have some more okay and then you go out and I'd stock it up

58:29

in the refrigerator and then you start snacking on it morning afternoon of the evening and it becomes a samskaara a

58:36

tendency when the time it becomes a tendency it's already run a groove into

58:41

your mind and we tend to start repeating that all of this happens that first burn

58:49

of it's nice what it may be nice but not the divert why but we forget it's not

58:55

work like it's nice I want to taste that again I want to see that again I want to hear that again I want to touch that

59:00

again I want to be in that place I want to be with that person I want to do that

59:05

work and not this work it starts there but liking then we think about it it the

59:12

groove becomes deeper then we start doing it groove becomes even deeper and in certain cases like addictions it's no

59:20

longer a groove which is the Grand Canyon it's been dug deep into our minds

59:25

it's extremely difficult to change at that level extremely difficult some scar is changing some scars is difficult some

59:31

scars are deep past ways nowadays they are saying that actually did they're

59:36

physically earlier they have to say that all the neural connections in the brain are set by the time you're 6 or 7 years

59:43

old it's that's it now they are saying that this neuroplasticity and all that yes strong

59:48

connections are made in childhood but all the time the brain is dynamic keeps changing we are saying a person who

59:54

becomes in a gross sense becomes addicted to a drug the neurology of the person changes it seems they're saying

60:01

that certain receptors died out other receptors become larger in number so the body the nervous system now is designed

60:08

to demand that drug physically designed to do that so the craving they're feeling is a

60:15

physical cream that samskaras become a Grand Canyon so what this

60:21

process hates is awareness aware this

60:27

all you have to do is see what's happening Salman Aska mindfulness at the level of

60:33

and now how you are mindful I mean this famous Buddhist teacher is their thick not hang if you have read not read this

60:40

book you should read that book miracle of mindfulness miracle of mindfulness it's based on the personal meditation

60:46

thick not hung he's a Vietnamese Buddhist monk he often comes to USA you

60:51

give lectures but his best-selling book is the miracle of mindfulness it's as

60:58

simple as this right now if you try it it's connected with the breath you

61:06

[Applause] breathe it goes like this I'll show you once and you can try it it goes like

61:13

this one simple practice breathing in I am here here breathing out now breathing

61:26

in here nowhere else breathing out now breathing in and happy

61:37

breathing out I smile repeat this cycle

61:42

reading in here breathing out

61:51

now just now not to win one minute ago not even one minute later breathing in I

61:58

am happy breathing out I smile that practice they

62:07

have many variations of this practice but basically it anchors us to the

62:13

present here and now otherwise we are always slipping up our monitor in fact

62:18

in Hindi Bengali there the words are all monoski on Namaskar someone Eska means

62:28

being with the mind let the mind be there right now be aware of it someone asked a miracle of

62:36

mindfulness when Zen teacher was asked what is your miracle he says my miracle is when I cut

62:47

the wood I cut wood when I draw water from the well I draw water from the well

62:52

that is why a miracle so the miracle should be when I do the dishes I do the

62:58

dishes or you can combine it I do the dishes and repeat the mantra but

63:04

basically you are I their swami very kinda puts it in a powerful little

63:11

mantra I can say in English he says goodness will come power will come glory

63:18

will come all that is great and excellent will come when the sleeping soul is roused to self conscious action

63:26

self conscious activity what is the self conscious not in a bag mad since I'm

63:31

self conscious of myself no I have Airness what's going on in the mind what's going on within in the senses in

63:39

the mind in the intellect that is called someone Oscar when all the time the moment you feel am not aware come back

63:46

to awareness gently without regrets Oh hours had passed before I look back

63:51

into myself doesn't matter look into yourself now gently don't be veil it that's also a trick of the mind I'm no

63:58

good at this then you go off on another trip a guilt trip No just come back to awareness someone

64:06

asked oh this process of unconscious living or semi-conscious living cannot bear the light of awareness it

64:13

short-circuits this process that's my awareness is extremely important Buddha many got nirvana when he was

64:22

walking towards South not before he gave the first seven minutes the story goes

64:28

this Shepherd by coward boy saw him and so amazed to see the look on his face

64:34

and asked him not who are you at this Houston Smith in his book on his book on our world religions Buddhism chapter one

64:40

asks writes this many people have been asked who are you very few in history

64:48

have been asked what are you this little biased but what are you are you a god

64:53

when this is enough are you an angel Buddha says no are you man what this is

65:00

no then what are you he says I am the awakened I am Buddha

65:06

Buddha literally means they're vacant meaning thereby the rest of us are not fully awake we are not in sleep either

65:14

though Vedanta tends to have that effect on people putting them to sleep but we are semi away sleep at least no problem

65:22

you are not up to any mischief if you are sleeping buts any awake lot of mischief is going on so someone asked

65:28

and the third one final one today is you go deeper the driver himself

65:36

remember the vehicle the sensory system that's one training is important the

65:41

mild away someone Eska mindfulness

65:47

training they say sir - wah the good horse is good horses are training horses

65:53

training or habit good habits are necessary at the level of the mind mindfulness now at the level of the

65:59

Internet the intellect is what decides most of the time we do not decide it

66:07

works by default whatever the sense is present to us whatever the mind does

66:12

with that processes it the intellect says yes intellect does not exercise its

66:18

filtering power is in default it just goes by default you know in

66:25

computers when you boot it or whether these days is a default setting so whatever is programmed into it that will

66:31

happen if you switch on the computer but you have an option of changing it you have to catch it at that moment in

66:37

earlier computers you have to give you 5 seconds or something like that to go in there it's exactly like that the

66:43

intellect has a tiny window of opportunity before the senses and the mind translated into actions into words

66:50

into thought into words and action thinking words an action they start before that the intellect has a tiny

66:56

window of opportunity to say yes or no to select to permit or not to permit

67:02

normally we don't use it we don't use it it just happens by automatically the intellect listens to the whisperings of

67:09

the senses this is nice and the intellect sort of gives in though the intellect may know better so this in our

67:18

monastery in India this is Swami where he was telling me see how the intellect

67:23

functions get diabetes and the doctor told him you should not take sweets now rasgulla comes let's cool a is a bengali

67:30

sweet it's very sweet so it comes and everybody there is a person coming with a bucketful of that and and giving to

67:36

everybody and Swami the tongue says I

67:41

want and the intellect says no doctor clearly I said no you should not take it

67:47

and sort of an intellect is the half-awake the intellect sort of gives in to the demands of the tongue and says

67:53

all right give me half of and sometimes

67:59

they would be there's this funny idea that it's full of set up the Rasulullah

68:04

this is funny idea that if you squeeze out the setup and take only the cheese Valley won't be so harmful you know doctors say

68:12

that's not true anyhow many people have had that there so a funny thing happened all the monks

68:18

were sitting in this old monk who was not supposed to eat sweets so every time he would come with the rasgulla he would

68:25

say squeeze it out and gave me the sweet remove the setup from it he would say

68:31

squeeze it now this young novice would come who did not know Bengali and you're

68:39

serving it he just understood what he meant by that he said squeeze it and give it so he was seeking to this old Swami and he heard

68:46

squeeze it so he squeezed the setup on his plate and took away the sweets and

68:59

everybody all around all the other monks say you they burst into laughter just like you saw what had happened intellect

69:07

does not use its power of decision yah mama tells no Chiquita a very beautiful

69:14

verse the mantra which I will repeat you

69:21

come to one to one one to one I repeat

69:30

that a new trio and neo-deava play DUP

69:35

na na t pollution Sunita tayo shreya

69:40

Adonis Assad who bhava te o TR Tod europeo every needy Yama says to

69:53

Nachiketa that all the time before you two things are coming the good and the

70:01

pleasant shreya and prayer prayer means Pleasant nice Sri means what is good the

70:07

good and the pleasant are coming all the time before you now one who selects

70:13

whose intellect selects the pleasant over the good never attains his goal in

70:20

life whatever may be the goal in life and the one who selects consistently the

70:29

good over the pleasant will attain the goal of life what does it mean once you have a goal

70:36

it may be making a million dollars it may be realizing God then what happen is everything in life becomes

70:43

clear once your goal is selected once the goal is selected what will take me

70:50

towards the goal and what will not take me towards the goal becomes clear we should be able to attain it what is the

70:56

problem the problem is there are a lot of things which the elephant likes the

71:03

elephant likes bananas bananas may not be good for your it may not be relevant

71:08

to your goal in life the ma who is going there with the elephant wants that now you are on the elephant you are in this

71:15

body and mind you have selected a goal means who has selected the goal your intellect has selected the goal I want

71:21

to realize God or I want to be healthy and lose 50 pounds or I want to give up

71:28

smoking I have selected the goal intellect but the body the sense organs

71:34

they have their own priorities so for them certain things are nice Pleasant

71:39

which may be quite contrary to your goal the energies of the body and mind they

71:46

flow automatically towards what's pleasant for the body and mind it may not be what's good for you so there is

71:54

often a contradiction you see the pleasant and the pleasant and the good

72:01

are like two salespeople who come before you they're rarely selling the same

72:07

thing they are often selling two different things so it's contradictory now unfortunately the players the

72:15

pleasant ones the salesperson is a much better salesperson partly because we are

72:21

willing to listen to him he's got all this he's got a nice laptop and a projector and he has got this nice

72:27

products and he gives you lots of things and he says see both of them have the

72:34

same goal both of the multimedia selling the same product happiness the present

72:39

and the good both of them ultimately is selling the same thing you will be happy if you listen to me that's what both of

72:44

them are same the thing is the one who's selling the pleasant that says when he says you will be happy right now he'll

72:52

be happy straightaway but what he does not say is this happiness will will destroy you

72:59

he said happiness will go away very soon life will be gone very soon nothing will

73:04

be pleasant in life I won't be my health will break down I will be able to eat

73:09

this I won't be able to go there I won't be able to watch that movie nothing will but very soon and then the pleasant salesman will disappear from

73:16

our life she won't come anymore and the salesman of the good just

73:21

shrugged his or her shoulders you didn't listen to me the salesmen we're selling the good what

73:27

is according to our goal in life is not a particularly good sales but not at any fault of that salesman but it's because

73:33

we don't listen we are not interested what they are selling is what the good

73:38

salesman is selling is what will give us happiness truly lasting happiness but if you take a little bit of time takes a

73:44

little bit of effort and it's true for anything in life you want to be a good

73:50

good student and get into Harvard or something like that that also requires that immediately life becomes divided

73:55

into what's pleasant and what's good the pleasant has a power of pulling us off

74:01

track he says if you follow the pleasant you'll be pulled up you're the path to

74:07

your goal and you'll be swept away you will not attain your goal and ultimately

74:12

the unfortunate thing is the pleasant is ephemeral it will come and go and then we are left high and dry time has gone

74:20

body has aged our resources have been spent and then we are left with nothing

74:26

it's a shimira it's it's something like a mirage which dilutes us if it did give

74:32

us some kind of permanent happiness I would say we say that okay we got something out of it but it does not so

74:38

prayer one who takes up the prayer here they are father who pray over Neath the

74:44

one who selects the pleasant and gives up the good even after deciding that

74:50

that's my goal and this will take me to my goal and don't take that I take that this I take this one then I will fall away from that goal he

74:57

says that means I will not attain my goal in spiritual life and selecting the

75:03

pleasant you may have a nice time for a short while but it it ends fast now I will just conclude here sum

75:12

up the take away from this talk this is the foundation of spiritual life sensory

75:18

level at the level of the mind at the level of the intellect senses mind

75:24

intellect women but the takeaway from this talk is the chariot model charge it

75:30

or car whichever is easier to remember remember the chariot you are the passenger in the chariot the chariot is

75:36

the body the horses are the sense organs the facts they run upon are the sense

75:43

objects you decide what they have to run upon the mind is the one by one by which

75:49

you control the sense the horses and the chariot if the range is the wheel of the

75:54

car the intellect is your driver now Yama says all three have to be taken

76:02

care of otherwise no spiritual life no success in secular life alocs is possible you can see in your own lives

76:07

you are all successful people you have been successful to the extent that you have controlled these three manage these

76:14

three self-management to the extreme that we have not been able to do it they have not reached the heights we would

76:20

have liked to reach so the senses have to be Yama says son a schwa good horses

76:28

good horses translates into training training translates into habit so at the

76:34

level of senses the takeaway is habits an effort consistent effort to create

76:42

good habits and overcome bad habits here the solution is only training not

76:48

reading not thinking not even wishing for it actual hard work to do generate

76:57

high good habits at the level of the senses go deeper the mind at that level

77:03

mindfulness be here be now watch yourself watch what what is happening at

77:10

the level of the senses what is happening at the level of the minds mind and what is happening at the level of the intellect watch it throw the light

77:18

of away what are my senses doing what am I thinking

77:23

what am I saying what am i doing at the level of the mind speech and action

77:29

someone asked oh so the key word here is mindfulness and at the level of the

77:37

intellect decision intellect can take decisions it's a great power in my life

77:42

we make a mistake of taking a decision once at the beginner on you know 31st December make a to-do list for my New

77:49

Year's but mostly the needs unimplemented because we do not exercise the power of decision consistently in

77:57

our time when do you have the power of decision all the time at this moment also you have right now

78:02

the power of deciding but you will do do with your body now what you will say now what you will think now we make a

78:10

mistake by thinking that I take decisions but it's difficult to hold on to my decisions you see what the trick

78:15

is holding on to the decision is a long-term thing one hour one day one

78:22

month one year that's difficult but what's completely easy and easily doable

78:27

is holding on to it for 10 seconds for one minute only everyone can do that and

78:33

after that what do you do you take another decision - next minute I will hold on to it why take one decision continuously

78:41

exercise the intellect that's what yoga is saying all the time the pleasant that

78:47

the good keep coming to you all the time you have to decide not default not automatic automatic then we go the way

78:54

of the senses what the senses whisper into the intellect until it will do that with awareness take decisions

79:02

continuously take decisions if you fail a thousand times no problem because right now is a chance for a fresh

79:08

decision as you keep doing that it will get easier very soon the more you do it

79:15

take decisions throughout the day more you do it and just not think about the past we sabotage ourselves were thinking

79:23

about past failures don't think about it's gone really really come more we

79:29

take decisions the easier it this prepares us for spiritual life this

79:35

is the passenger in the chariot will reach destination destination is enlightenment freedom moksha then so the

79:42

one to repeat again three things we take away from this habit mindfulness

79:48

decision senses mind intellect Oh

79:56

Shante Shante Shante hurry so we still

80:13

have time for maybe a couple two or three questions it's 12:20 tell that you have to wrap up right so in the evening

80:25

class we will take up next part of Emma's teaching the the path of the

80:32

child to realize Who am I what is the technique he will teach us a technique it's subtle so I can already see people

80:41

are going in their minds ah so the real thing is being saved up for the evening it's true that's that's a deeper thing

80:46

but I would always say that the real thing is this I would urge all of you

80:52

and all of us including myself to think more about this than anything else highest vedanta awaits you there's no

80:59

problem there the real problem is here without this without this foundation

81:05

everything that we build upon it will one day collapse with this foundation

81:10

the rest of it is not so difficult it happens quite easily it follows as a matter of course yes so there was this

81:49

body of spiritual knowledge the Rishi's who developed these ideas who got this

81:54

realization and then expressed it in these pumps that's what became dope ownership so Rishi's we're the enlightened persons with the teachers of

82:00

mankind so they gave this knowledge to us and it's more or less common to all of the

82:05

all the Vedas so sometimes you'll find out the original verses being repeated

82:11

in different opening shots and in the Gita later on and later on you will find Shankar Acharya coating that and the

82:19

other great masters of non-duality like vidya and your mother Suzanne Saraswathi

82:24

in different forms rachael acharya coating the same thing so communicate I

82:31

think I don't again seminars and workshops and things like that but they

82:36

definitely had a very vibrant spiritual culture that then people used to go and learn from each other we find in definitions themselves how sages and

82:43

things are going all the time going to each other and they would communicate they would speak to each other it's not

82:49

that they were always sitting quietly and if they got an idea and they give out offers they tout they debated the

82:55

quarrel and they came to certain conclusions that was the common heritage

83:01

of Vedanta that's why it's repeated and it's common to all of us how can you

83:07

find the persons who gave this the names are not found but it's a common heritage to all of humanity not just for in dues

83:13

or anything like that it's an impersonal teaching you see there is no question of a God to believe

83:20

in separate you know idea of this person this particular name this revelation know what you are talking about here is

83:27

your own reality after what is he talking about it's talking about your body it's talking about your own sense organs he's

83:33

talking about your mind it's talking about your intellect and talking about the reality talking about the reality

83:40

behind this intellect the passenger in the chariot of your own body there is

83:47

no question of believing in something out there this is look at what exists

83:52

right now and investigated a philosophical investigation spiritual investigation is that the continuous

84:23

noise in the head the voice in the head result of chattering and often it's meaningless naturally this and that all

84:29

the time that's the intellect intellect and the -

84:35

thoughts emotions feelings at the level of the mind continuous input is there at

84:41

the level of the senses and the intellect has this ideas concepts ideas

84:48

decisions so all the time the three are active sensors are active mind is active

84:55

intellect is active the mixture is what you call this the background noise of our life it's much better to engage it

85:03

that's why the Guru says you can repeat the mantra whenever you want that's a very good practice it's a powerful thing

85:10

which effects the intellect first and then the mind and even ultimately the senses on the whole body yes oh yes oh

85:23

is all the time go wrong in the sense it takes the wrong decision mostly because

85:29

of lack of awareness we are not aware of what's going on intellect takes an

85:34

automatic decision habit default decision I want that sweet I know the

85:42

intellect knows that I have diabetes and the dog and the doctor has told me doc has told me not to eat sweets that

85:48

information is their senses demand it the mind runs after the senses senses

85:54

are not in the control of the mind and the intellect is supposed to act as

86:00

a decision-maker and though the internet says this just this once won't matter so

86:06

it all of it falls in line with the Census and the we are pulled into the swing shop or something yes yes now the

86:39

thing is often adults also cannot make their own decisions not because we

86:44

cannot we do not that's the sad part of it we don't use that power of decision and children often are even more unable

86:54

to use the power of decision so they that's why in childhood habit circle so

87:00

if the have good habits inculcated they'll keep on doing the right thing

87:06

good habits good training is is very important but the training to make

87:11

decisions also is important the child should be allowed to make decisions again and again maybe we would fail it's

87:18

your decision but the consequences should also we'll find out often the child makes a wrong decision and the

87:25

parent shields the child from the consequences that officer should not be there and the power to decision should become clear I make the right decision

87:32

in the long run not in the short run in the long run I am happy I see that for

87:37

myself the child should be given experience due to she see that for himself or herself one thing to remember

87:46

is one thing which helps the intellect to make good decisions his calmness of

87:52

the mind and the in end senses because the intellect has a very small window to

87:58

make a decision before the mind and senses start acting so if you can be a

88:04

calm person maybe even a little slow-moving person then the decisions are better then a

88:11

fast reacting person that's why meditation they are now to some actual

88:17

experiments they have proved that meditation helps us in our decision-making process

88:23

certain parts of dil I think left brain and some something they it becomes a prefrontal cortex they are saying that

88:29

it becomes more active when a person is more meditative because it gives it a

88:35

chance to act it seems that our primitive and animal brain it reacts

88:40

fast and the more modern they call it the neocortex or something so that takes

88:48

time to react intellect works through that that's why you should give the

88:54

intellect I'm glad it's better not to is doing something good do it

88:59

doing something that's little dicey wait you give it time

89:04

maybe the intellect will take a better decision so meditation is very helpful for the intellect intellect becomes

89:12

stronger more able to take a decision and implement it if you are meditative patience is a great purchase patience is

89:20

not suppression I'm angry but okay I have to be patient I will not say a harsh word that person is boiling inside

89:27

already that's not patience patience says alright this person behaved rudely I'm

89:32

not affected by it doesn't matter just a few words anyway if you react fast then

89:40

you are at the mercy of the world I read about dr. hunt

89:50

Julian Hunter John Hunter something a subject in England who was who was very

89:56

rigid and he would react very fast to criticism and he said it's it's a

90:02

tragedy that my blood pressure is at the at the mercy of the whole world anybody contradicts me and you know the

90:08

horror of it was in a medical conference somebody stood up and criticized what he had said and he was so furious he

90:15

stalked out of the room fell into the hands of a fellow physician and of a heart attack Swami Vivekananda says

90:24

you are slaves slave to a good word slave to a bad word just a little bit of

90:34

praise and so happy what does it matter if somebody praises that I know what I am doesn't make me one bit better or one

90:41

bit worse somebody criticizes I am completely in positive psychology they

90:46

call it catastrophizing everything is ruined in my life it's horrible

90:53

he has said or she has said something critical about me really I am awful no

91:01

it's not true so the intellect which helped if you are

91:09

a patient person the holy mother used to say in that show judge from a shaman

91:16

goony there is no virtue equal to patience and sri ramakrishna played on

91:21

this world of fun Jay Chou Oishi Roy in now - Asha in Bengali what it means is

91:30

the one who forebears who is patient he will he will live he will exist in

91:36

continued he will prosper the one who does not forbear who reacts will be

91:44

destroyed

91:51

okay we've run out of tank thank you very much

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