Being a Student of Vedanta Bede
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Transcript of Being a Student of Vedanta Bede
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Being a student
of Vedanta
Bede Clifford
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InhoudBeing a Student of Vedanta Part 1 ..................................................................... 2
Being a Student of Vedanta Part 2 ...................................................................... 7
Being a student of Vedanta part 3 ..................................................................... 12
Being a Student of Vedanta Part 4 .................................................................... 18
Being a Student of Vedanta Part 5 .................................................................... 24
Being a Student of Vedanta Part 6 .................................................................... 27
Being a Student of Vedanta Part 7 .................................................................... 35
Being a student of Vedanta part 8 ..................................................................... 45
Being a Student of Vedanta Part 9 .................................................................... 51
Part 1 Conversations ............................................................................................. 56
Part 2 Conversations ............................................................................................. 58
Part 3 Conversations ............................................................................................. 66
Part 4 Conversations ............................................................................................. 67
Part 5 Conversations ............................................................................................. 77
Part 6 Conversations ............................................................................................. 79
Part 7 Conversations ............................................................................................. 80
Part 8 conversations ............................................................................................. 89
Part 9 conversations ............................................................................................ 90
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Being a Student of Vedanta PartEverything that happens in our lives has a meaning to
us. When we are loved, that means something to us.
When we are hated, this hatred has a different meaning
to us than when we are loved. So everything that we see
has a meaning for us. Now here is the thing. What
determines how we understand ourselves, other people
and our world? Obviously everything that happens to us
means something to us. We go I like that.Or I dont
like that or I am indifferent to that. Before we make
conclusions like these we have ascertained what the
event or person means to us. When someone says that
rotten person did a horrible thing. That person is
communicating the meaning that that person has for
them. But again here is the interesting question. What
determines the meaning? If you asked the person who
thinks that the person is rotten why they think that way
they will tell you that it is because of what they have
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done. This sounds reasonable however this is not the
determining factor that determines the meaning you
have about the things that happen to you. Another
factor remains hidden in the background.
Let us say that I told you about a guy who ripped open
another guys belly with a knife. Now that means
something to you straight away. You probably wont like
the guy because you dont like violent actions like that.
But what if you found out that the guy was a young
surgeon trying to save anothers life under enemy fire.
Now the same event has an entirely different meaning
for you. You see it differently. Now the point we need to
take from this is this. THE CONTEXT FROM WHICH WE
LOOK AT PEOPLE AND EVENTS DETERMINES THE MEANING
THAT PEOPLE AND ENVENTS HAVE FOR US.
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The oxford dictionary defines context in this way.
Context: the circumstances that form the setting for an
event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can
be fully understood
this is a good definition but we are going to modify it
slightly for our Vedantic our purposes here
Context: the standpoint that forms the setting for an
event, statement, or idea, in terms of which the event,
statement, or idea is understood.
When you found out that the setting was a battlefield
and the guy was a surgeon there was a sudden context
shift which transformed your cognition of the event.
Within this context and only within this context could
you understand this event in the right way? This shifting
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of our way of seeing or cognising Swami Dayananda
gives the term cognitive shift.
Now you may be thinking Bede has gone of on a
tangent. This is supposed to be about Vedanta. In fact it
is about the most important thing for us as students of
Vedanta. The most important thing for us as students of
Vedanta is to study Vedanta from the right context. If
we fail to do this we will not understand the teaching in
the right way. We will understand it in our way.
My teacher early on in my Vedantic studies made it very
clear that there was only one context and one context
alone that Vedanta can be understood. If we dont study
from WITHIN this context Vedanta will have a meaning
for us but not the one intended by the scriptures. We will
be wasting our time. Everything we hear will be taken in
the wrong way. This was very important thing for me to
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understand and I wish to share this with my fellow
students. I will do it in parts so I can go step by step. I
just wanted to set the context first so you would
understand me in the right way.
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Being a Student of Vedanta Part 2When I first meet up with Swamini Atmaprakasananda
on skype I asked her why there was suffering. I didn't say
why am I suffering that was too close. I wanted to
know what she would say. I had never talked to a guru
before and it was embarrassing to ask. In the past I had
rubbished people who needed them. It seemed to me like
weakness. Swamini said the following. the reason people
suffer is that that are dependant of people and things
for their happiness. Because I had lost most of the
things I depended on for my happiness and was
suffering extremely as a result what she said made
complete sense. She also said in this first conversation
people and things never hurt us they are just
instrumental in revealing the pain that is already with
us. This understanding is the beginning of emotional
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and a whole lifetime of the presence of objects CAUSING
me pain. Swamini was making it very clear that
blaming was not only futile but incorrect. What was
causing my pain was my dependence.
Until I met this Vedanta teacher I lived entirely in the
context of a world of objects (people and conditions)
that were giving me happiness or taking it away. All I
wanted was the happenings of the universe to line up
with what I wanted so I could be happy. Because if it did
not I was very unhappy. I also knew that the fault lay
with the universe not me. I looked at the world and
drew a big line down the middle. I put all the things
that MADE me happy on the left hand side and put all
the things that MADE me unhappy on the right hand
side. Then I built my life around staying on the left
hand side because my happiness depended on staying
on that side. This context WITHIN which I lived
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determined entirely how I lived in the world and what
everything that happened meant to me. My way of seeing
was determined by this context and the way I lived in
my world came out of this way of seeing. My living in my
world was my way of seeing the world in action. Any
efforts to improve myself was like rearranging the chairs
on the Titanic. It seemed like I was doing something but
it was all done within the same context that was the
problem. So the same old suffering in new forms kept on
appearing no matter what I did.
This iswhat we call samsara- the dependence upon
another person, another situation, for your own sense of
well-being Swami Dayananda.
Before my conversation with Swamini I thought like the
Buddhists that life was samasra. Life was suffering.
Something was wrong with life because it was suffering.
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From appearances this seemed to be very true. But this
was not was being said here. This teacher was saying
that my dependence on objects was MY problem. This
made me wrong of course but at the same time I knew
that if the problem lay with me and not the world maybe
something radical (going to the root) might be able to
take place in my life. I felt I was beginning something.
8I just didn't know what it was. Even though she was
saying was very tough she was very kind at the same
time which enabled me to take on board what she was
saying. Something within me knew that the problem lay
with me in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.
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What was being suggested here was that there was a
sense of well being (security, peace and happiness) that
stands alone in and as itself. A well being which is
unshakable in the face of any circumstance even such
extreme extreme ones like failure, social rejection,
imprisonment, the physical pain of sickness and the fact
of and experience of death. A well being which could not
be acquired by effort but was ever present as the truth of
myself. It was also pointed out that the only distance
between myself and this absolute freedom was
ignorance. Not the world. Not other people. Not even
myself. There was something very important I was not
seeing and the only solution was seeing it.
I didn't even recognise the existential condition of
samsara let alone have any notions of its solution. I just
wanted to be happy. Freedom from dependence was not
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my issue. My emotional upsets and unhappiness lay with
things other than my self. The relief from these things
also lay with things other than myself. At the time this
basic conclusion or notion seemed fairly obvious. This
was my entrenched standpoint on life. This was the
context in which I lived moved and had my being but
it as a context was entirely hidden from me though it
determined entirely how I lived in the world. .
This was my first encounter with the standpoint of the
Vedanta scriptures. They were scriptures that werent
telling me what to do but rather what to see. Frankly
from my Christian Judaic background scriptures used in
this way is unknown. In the light of this scripture I could
see myself and my situation in an entirely different way.
From my own standpoint life looked one way. From the
standpoint of the Vedantic scriptures it looked entirely
different. I did not know I was seeing my life in the light
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before we talked. I knew I had finally come across
something good. Looking back I had no idea what I was
getting myself into.
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Being a Student of Vedanta Part 4note:This is part of a series. For understanding please
make sure you have read the previous ones with the
same title and in order from part one.
When we talk about depending on the scriptures we
really need to see what this really means. Swamini told
me that the scriptures are like a mother. They look after
us. This was strange to me because I was brought up
Roman Catholic and it was more of a weapon of
coercion to keep me in line. The threat of hell fire and
and the rules to obey to avoid it were contained in the
scriptures.
The idea that the scriptures were a way of seeing was an
entirely new thing for me. One such way of seeing was
that behind all my suffering was my dependence on
people and situations for my happiness. We can easily
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accept this as a philosophical proposition where we agree
with it or not based on our intellectual background. But
agreement is not seeing in the Vedantic sense. Because
mental agreement is not based on listening, awareness
and discrimination it is simply a mental reaction. If I
said to you I think the republican party is the best party
to run the country you will find agreement or
disagreement will arise automatically without
awareness or our faculty of discrimination coming into
play. I could say you are the Self, distinct from the mind
body complex and give you the reasoning behind this
and you can agree with it or not depending on your
intellectual or religious background. The Vedantic
vision arises entirely from a different context than these
mental reactions of agreement.
What I started to do after that first phone call was
whenever I noticed myself getting upset I would pause
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and consciously and deliberately look at the situation
from the scriptural standpoint that this suffering was a
result of my dependence on people or things for my
happiness. Now you can't do this sort of practice without
committing to it. You won't commit to it unless you see
the value of it. You won't see the value of it unless you
discover it. You won't discover it unless you see it. You
won't see it unless it is unfolded by someone who sees it
this way and helps you see it this way yourself. You also
need someone who knows how to unfold it in the right
way otherwise you won't see it in the first place. Once you
have seen it you have to actively depend on it if you wish
to establish this way of seeing in your life. What we are
looking at here is constantly shifting from looking at
our lives from our own standpoint , which SEEMS so true
and real, to looking at our life in the light of the
scriptures. If we do not depend on the scriptures this way
we will study Vedanta but continue to look at ourselves,
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riveted on them and what they have done. But here is
the thing. When we reawaken to the vision of the
scripture, right in the middle of our upsets this vision
gathers us up and lifts us beyond our upset. We are still
in the same situation but seeing it in an entirely
different light. Swami Dayananda calls this a cognitive
shift. The more we depend on the scriptures in this way
the more we live in the light of the Vedantic vision.
We can only learn by assimilating experience in the
light of the scriptures. To do this we have to rely on the
standpoint of the scripture to look at ourselves, others
and events. We still very much live in the world but from
an entirely different context. Try this. The next time you
are upset. Pause and consciously and deliberately recall
an understanding you were given in class that is
relevant to this present upset and look at this event in
the light of this understanding. Bear in mind you don't
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have to transform how you see this event because the
understanding you were given will do that. This is what
is meant by dependence. This understanding is a gift
from the lord and will lift you above your upsets if you
rely on it not yourself. I am going to say more about this
later . But at this point I just wanted to start on the
practical meaning of relying on the scriptures and how
valuable this is. There is nothing that beats practice so
long as it is the practice is in the context of
understanding.
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Being a Student of Vedanta Part 5
note:This is part of a series. For understanding please
make sure you have read the previous ones with the
same title and in order from part one.
One of the most interesting things that Swamini has
made clear to me is the growth of clarity and what it
involves. What we become clear about is ever present and
therefore beyond time. It is rather our clarity
concerning what is ever present that undergoes a
change and this change happens over time. Clarity of
vision does not just happen. Swamini talks about how as
we listen to the teaching layers of vagueness is removed
bit by bit. The range and the depth of our SEEING is what
is transformed not ourselves. What we are in reality does
not undergo any change it does not need to. Sunlight in
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the morning does not produce what is seen it just reveals
what is already there. The light becomes slowly evident
until it takes up all the room. This transformation of our
vision or our way of seeing is what Vedanta is all about.
As Swamini pointed out to me from the start. Vedanta is
a vision not a philosophy. Swami Dayanada uses the
analogy of a developing photo to describe the growing of
clarity from small beginnings to the total vision.
When I first met her I was confused and unhappy. I did
not know my problem was lack of clarity. I thought the
self that I took myself to be was the problem and I knew
all my efforts to fix it had failed and I had no hope of
any resolution. I did not just have despair as something
that existed by itself. I was suffering from self despair. My
life appeared to me as a very convincing tale told by
an idiot and as Swami Dayanada says we can't stand
being unacceptable to ourselves. I couldn't stand it but
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there was nothing I could DO about it. And you know
what I was about to find out that there was nothing I
could do about it. My problem was not that I was DOING
wrongly it was I was SEEING wrongly. This teacher had
no interest in fixing me she just proceeded to correct how
I saw myself, other people, the world and God. She really
did not see me as the problem.
The shift from struggling with myself and trying to
improve myself and my life to correcting how I was
seeing myself and my life was the real beginning of my
vedantic studies. Seeing the value of knowledge shifts
our lives into an entirely different context. It is our real
starting point as students of vedanta.
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Being a Student of Vedanta Part 6
note:This is part of a series. For understanding please
make sure you have read the previous ones with the
same title and in order from part one.
When I asked Swamini about how do we know right from
wrong. She was unequivocal. You know what is right and
wrong but you don't know the value of doing the right
and avoiding the wrong. She also said that when you go
against your knowledge of right and wrong you become
split and become disturbed within your self and in
conflict with the environment.
As I found out, through our conversations in which she
clarified this whole issue, she was not talking about
being a nice person or being good at social relations.
Sociopaths and politicians have great social skills. What
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she was saying was that a life of dharma involved being
aware of each situation as it presented and responding
in ways that are terms of what needed to be done. What
she calls doing the needful with presence of mind.
A knowledge of right and wrong is an innate part of us
as an individual and as we relate ourselves to the world
in the light of this knowledge we come into harmony
with the whole. What was interesting to me here was that
by coming into harmony with the whole we come into
harmony with ourselves. Dharma is written into us. We
find it there. It is a dynamic ( has force and direction)
tendency within us. As Swamini says we don't have to go
to university to learn what is right or wrong. By making
our way of living conform to what we know to be right or
wrong, our way of living and our knowledge of right
and wrong become one complete unfragmented whole.
Our minds become relatively peaceful within themselves
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and our relation to other people and situations become
relatively free of conflict.
Later on after much difficultly with the God thing I
came to see that each situation was given to me by the
hand of the Lord and it was given as something to be
done or responded to. And that by offering my mind
and body in the service of that given task ,the best way I
could, was the life of a devotee. Swamini said this was
real devotion. This was not some form of religious
slavery but is a way to truly living in the world happily,
peacefully and responsively. This was not some external
code to be followed and obeyed. It was responsiveness in
terms of what is in our very best interests. I might feel
like (a desire)speaking in a harsh manner to my spouse
because of real or imagined wrongs (aversion). But
when I do, my knowledge of right and wrong and my
way of living come into conflict and so I become
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disturbed within myself. Because talking in harsh ways
is an attack on my spouse I come into conflict with my
spouse. So here I am doing something that feels right to
do yet I cease to live happily with myself because I have
violated what is basic to myself as an individual (my
knowledge of right and wrong) and cease to live happily
and peacefully with others. This is really not in my best
interests. Swamini says when you protect dharma
dharma protects you. This I have found is a dependable
rule.
In the context of the Vedantic understanding of God,
everything has an entirely different meaning than in
the context of our desires and aversions. Our
understanding of God becomes the basis of a way of
living in the world characterised by graceful acceptance
and beneficial responsiveness. This is opposed to when
our desires and aversions are the basis of our way of
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craved for because in their presence we feel happy and
peaceful inside. This is why they are important to us and
desperately feel the need for them. These desperate
desires that we depend on for our happiness, Swami
Dayananda calls binding desires because we seem to be
held by them. But if we become relatively happy within
ourselves the desperate needs are neutralised because
they no longer have the same value because we already
have what they give. They become redundant.
Swamini helped we with a particular issue that I always
found difficult. I asked her how could I be happy in a
world where there was so much misery and pain. She
told me that if I was unhappy and miserable in myself I
would by necessity harm people. Looking back at my
harmful acts which have been many and varied I really
saw what she was saying was true. When I was unhappy
in myself certain things became inordinately important
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and I would tend to pursue them irrespective of the
harm to myself and others.
One thing for sure. I was going to have to learn to live
in the light of dharma not in the light of my desires and
aversions if I wished to live a happier and more peaceful
life. It was not like she was being moralistic and
threatening me with pain or damnation. None of that.
She was offering me a choice like if you go that way it
will not be in your best interests because you will fall off
the cliff and get smacked up. If you go this other way
that I am suggesting you won't fall, the trip will be
pleasant and will get pleasanter as you go along and
on top of that you will get to the same place you have
been trying to get to by the other way; being more
happier and peaceful within yourself.
Not much of a choice really is it?
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Being a Student of Vedanta Part 7
note:This is part of a series. For understanding please
make sure you have read the previous ones with the
same title and in order from part one.
I was sitting down by a bus stop reading a a very
interesting book. There was an old person sitting next to
me. They tried to start up a conversation with me.
Somewhat hesitantly because indifference to their
existence is normal. I answered politely but then went
back to reading my book what was what I was interested
in doing.
God obtains in us in the form of dharma. I clearly was
given awareness of what was happening. I could sense
this person was lonely and wanted to talk. Also a clear
indication as to what be the most beneficial act which
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would meet was needed in the best way. What I needed
to do was also obtaining in me loud and clear. Give my
attention to this human being and talk with her. Also a
prompting obtained within me in the direction of this
needed responsiveness. What did I do. I continued to
read this very interesting book on Vedanta which by the
way was probably talking about dharma.
Now did I act impolitely. Not at all. Did I break social
convention. No. I was very polite. Is it a good thing to
read a Vedanta book. Of course it is. So here I was not
violating any social rules and doing my thing as is my
right. So in terms of social conventions, interpersonal
relations and my individual rights there is absolutely
no problem. However in the light of dharma, which is an
entirely different context from social conventions,
interpersonal relations and my personal liberties
(though it includes them all) my actions towards that
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of rules that we live by or try to live up to. It is an
awareness of the situation in terms of what needs to be
done and a beneficial responsiveness based on that
awareness. This involves doing the right and avoiding
the wrong. We know what is right and what is wrong.
This is the fundamental discrimination in living. We
are always aware of this but that does not mean we live
our lives in the light of this awareness.
I know if I am lonely it is nice to be able to talk to
someone. I did not learn this at university. I know how I
like to be treated by others. This knowledge is natural to
me. I also know that I don't want to be betrayed or
talked about behind my back in a bad way. I know this.
There is no uncertainty here. I know I want to be paid
back if I lend money. This is not a vague or uncertain
knowledge it is loud and clear. I know I don't wish to be
hurt. Because I know how I would like others to treat me
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I know that this is the best way to treat others.
If I was honest it is far more important for me that
others treat me in ways I like than to treat others in the
same way. I value this far more than I value treating
others in the same way. The hit man knows he would not
like to be shot. He is very clear on this. We know what is
the right way to treat others. Swamini says the scriptures
don't bother unfolding this knowledge to us because
there is no need. What the scriptures unfold to us is the
value of living in this way with others because if we
don't we become very unhappy within ourselves and
come into conflict with others and unavailable to the
teaching of Vedanta.
Once you understand the value of living a life of
dharma and commit to living you have to choose daily
what voice you will listen to. Dharma or our binding
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desires and aversions. This applies to every situation. We
know when we need to write an email that it would be
the best thing for us to do to do but but don't do it. We
don't follow the promptings of dharma in this situation
but rather we follow the promptings of our desires. Even
though this brings about a satisfaction it puts us at odds
with ourselves. We neglect to respond in the best possible
way. Like I neglected that old woman because I desired
to read a book even though the promptings of dharma
was loud and clear. What is important here is that all
these little things add up. Going against dharma builds
unhappiness into us. A feeling of rightness within
ourselves is not possible when we violate our awareness of
what is right and what is wrong. How can we be at peace
with ourselves be we are constantly building disturbance
within ourselves. Swami Dayananda says if you rub
against the law and order the law and order rubs
against you Even though I continued to read my
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Vedanta book I did not feel comfortable in myself.
Because I refused the promptings of dharma which
always obtain in me in a loud and clear way, I paid for
it by not feeling right within myself. Add up all the little
violations and they add up to a mind which is disturbed
within itself and it becomes full of desires for things that
we hope will remedy this unhappiness within ourselves.
When I started learning to live a life of dharma I
became very much aware how I loved doing my own
thing at the neglect of what the presenting moment
needed. When I would go out with my kids along time
ago when they were little I would sit with them in a cafe
with them reading a book. Doing my own thing was
more important than doing the needful in terms of what
the situation needed. I had no knowledge of the value of
serving the situation let alone the lord by offering what
was needed. I didn't have a relationship to others and
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we want to do what needs to be done. At this point we
have assimilated the value of living a life of values. He
also said at the beginning we will have a conflict
between what we want to do and what we need to do. In
this he is so right. When the lord appears in the form of
dishes to be done I often would like to do something else.
Do I serve him or myself. If I serve him it not self sacrifice
or being virtuous. This is the very best way to live as
evidenced by the improvement in the quality of our
mind and the way we live with others and the world.
This quality of mind is what we call a contemplative
disposition.
Without a contemplative disposition, which is the
disposition of mind that takes us home to ourselves as we
really are, we will not become established in the Vision
which frees us from self ignorance. The ground out of
which this disposition can arise is living a life of values.
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my reactions in which there was no fault finding and a
relation in which there was no resistance or refusal but
rather making room for whatever was there. I saw at
once this was not some sweetness and light spiritual
notion of love. I also knew it was important because
Swami Dayananda has made it very clear. If we can't
accommodate people totally the Vedantic vision will not
be available to us. I was in trouble. I was a chronic fault
finder in relation to myself, others and the world. I was
not willing to make room for a lot of things especially
things I found unpleasant and disagreed with.
Now just so we are clear it was not being suggested that I
like or agree with unpleasant facts. It was suggested
that I make room for these facts no matter how
disagreeable or unpleasant without friction or conflict.
I knew straight away that this was big and what she was
talking about was being in harmony with what is. It was
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strange. I would have said of course I want to live
peacefully and happily with others and the world. Well
the truth was I was only willing to have this non fault
finding relation which was accommodative with others
and the world when I found these others and the world
in ways that were peasant and agreeable.
When we are in friction or conflict our minds are
disturbed. When our minds are disturbed we react we
don't respond. Doing our duty (meeting situations in
the best possible way) requires responsiveness. Being in
harmony with what is no matter what that is is the
ground out of which responsiveness arises. Being in
harmony with what is produces a stable and clear
quality of mind. Being in friction or conflict with what
is produces a mind that is disturbed and not seeing
clearly. Here again was this very interesting idea that
the problem is not in our mind but in our relation to
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people and things other than ourselves which also
includes our psychological reactions because these are
also other these ourselves. This sort of emphasis was new
for me. I had always assumed the problem was in my
mind and if I could fix that everything would be honky
dorrie. But here what was being suggested was that my
problem was MY RELATION to people and things that was
the problem and this determined the quality of my
mind. What I was looking at now was what attitudes
did I hold that came between myself and my mind,
between myself and others and between myself and the
world. A fault finding non accommodating attitude
was always there between myself and others or between
myself and situations that I found unpleasant or
disagreeable.
Again the problem was not people and situations that
were causing my being in conflict with them or the
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unpeaceful quality of my mind. They were not to blame
even though often this seemed to me to be true. The
attitudes I held and held on to for dear life, that came
BETWEEN myself self and my mind, myself and others
and myself and situations were ensuring that I
constantly in conflict and friction. These attitudes were
determining the kind of relation I had with my
psychological reactions, with other people even the ones I
cared about and situations that kept cropping up again
and again. It was clear unless these attitudes were
replaced I could look forward to more of the same for
the rest of my life. Looking back on my life this was not a
good prospect.
I was starting to look at my life from a different light. A
very revealing light at that. This was revelation in a
real sense. It was not some Indian spiritual trip even
though I was talking to a very Indian looking teacher.
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It was not some new age peace and love philosophy it
was just a clear light which was enabling me to see
things that have always been with me but that I never
saw. Thankfully it did not come from me. Rather it was
given. It was a blessing and so was this teacher who was
unfolding it to me. I have a lot more to say about non
fault finding accommodation because it is for me the
value of it is one of the most important discoveries I have
ever made. Because of this I wish to go into a lot of
detail about it which I will do in the next few parts. I
just wanted to set up the ground work.
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Being a Student of Vedanta Part 9
note:This is part of a series. For understanding please
make sure you have read the previous ones with the
same title and in order from part one.
All my life a had thought of my mind as something
within me and the world as something outside of me. All
through my formal training as a psychotherapist was
the idea that the problem lay with the mind. The work of
Freud, which is brilliant in my opinion, especially his
work on ego defences and unconscious forces exerting
influences on our conscious life is a major achievement
of Western thinking. However the premise is that the
problem is within the mind and this is where the
solution is to be found. Modern cognitive psychotherapy
say that the problem lies in cognitive distortions or
irrational thinking and if these can be changed or
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removed this is the solution. Again the problem is in the
mind which is on the inside and if this can be fixed the
then the persons emotional responses and behaviour will
improve. The behaviourist psychologists think that
unhelpful behaviour is the problem and if that can be
modified and people get better behavioural outcomes
this is a better direction to go. This means that the
behaviour patterns which are within the individual are
what need to be dealt with. I could go on but the
premise is always the same. The problem is inside the
individual and there is where the solution is to be
found.
Vedanta views all this in a new and extraordinary
light. It starts with the individual in the universe and
that the universe and the individual are different. Well
this is nothing new. But here is the thing. In the
Vedantic vision the mind and all its contents are part of
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asked Swamini in exasperation what are you telling me
that all the killing and violence in Iraq is the Lord? She
said of course it is the Lord I was stunned. I did not
know what to say. I thought to myself why am I
listening to this woman who could have such a strange
idea It just seemed so outrageous. EVERYTHING WAS
GOD. WHAT SHE WAS SUGGESTING WAS EVERYTHING WAS
GOD. My Christian Judaic notions of God started to
rattle and jump around in my head. What really
exasperated me was the matter of fact tone she said it. As
if it was a plain fact that could be seen by anybody. Well
I was not anybody. However her disarming manner
allowed me to at least consider it. She was so clear on
other things I could not dismiss it out of hand. The idea
seemed mad on one hand but made sense on another.
Everything was given. Everything was in order.
Everything was out of my hands except choice over
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action. Everything was God which included me as an
individual. Talk about clashing against all my basic
assumptions about myself, the world and God. Was it
going to get worse. It certainly was!!!!
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Part 2 Conversationsoo 16 peoplelike this.o
shwani Kr Lodhi RajputVery interesting. Plz keep it on.thanks a lot for sharing.
June 7 at 11:17amviamobileLike
oShanta SankaranWe know that we lean on the outsideworld and people but dont like giving that up. It iswonderful how you bring a modern context andreasoning for Uparati.
June 7 at 12:28pmLike2
oshwin KhambadkoneThis is insightful;
Samsara=dependence upon another person, anothersituation for validation of own sense of well being.Therefore, it follows, freedom is being free from thisneed.
June 7 at 1:50pm
Edited
Like
2
oSudha JayagopalSomewhere down the line we all cometo realise this. But realisation and acceptance is onething, and working on it entirely another cup of tea..not easy as it leaves very little else for one to lay the
blame on..people, things, circumstances, etc, etc! Felt likesomeone was reading into my own thought process as I
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was reading your wonderful insights. Looking forwardto more on the same:-)
June 7 at 2:03pmLike3
oSush VijSo amazing. Realizing and practicing are twodifferent things. It is so nice to read this and keep up thepractice. Thank you for sharing.
June 7 at 3:50pmviamobileUnlike2
onjani DudduThis is so true that we all depend on
people ,external objects, situations and gadgets to makeus feel happy and secured . they give us only temporaryhappiness and security , until we wake up to this realitywe are caught up in this samsara.
June 7 at 5:31pmLike2
oShivaram KrishnanI feel realizing and practicing arethe same thing.
June 7 at 7:43pmLike3
oShivaram KrishnanIf not, one just needs to listenagain. hear again.
June 7 at 7:44pmLike2
o
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Bede Cliffordyou might discover the value of nonharmfulness and be clear about what you get by livingthat value as a way of life and understand what you
lose by nor living that way. But to assimilate that valueyou must consciously and deliberately make thatunderstanding and your way of living come together toform a whole. Swami Dayananda is very clear on this inhis book value of values. To assimilate a value requiresawareness and the exercising of our discriminationbetween what is right and what is wrong and our choiceover action. These are the three faculties my teacher says
makes us human beings different from Animals.Whenour understanding and our way of living are one andthe same our realizing and practicing are one and thesame. the bridge to this is awareness, discriminationand choice over action. Value of values is my existentialbible. It deals with existential knowledge. knowledge ofvalues related to how we live our lives. this knowledge isdistinct from the ontological (truth of being) knowledge
which is the truth of what we are. in the context of thisknowledge the discrimination that applies is betweenwhat is eternal and what is transient. in the context ofour daily living the discrimination between what isright and what is wrong is the important one. Thepractice of karma yoga transforms the quality of ourminds in order to make it subtle enough to listen to andunderstand the ontological teaching. This is the onlyway the teaching can work according to my teacher.Our fundamental choice in terms of living is being amindless reactor or being a conscious, discriminativeand responsive doer. Without this we can't change ourway of living. if we don't change the way we are livingour minds remain the same. Understanding and livingmust be brought together. This is what firmly establishes
the understanding in us.I suggest you read "Action andReaction" and "Value of Values" they contain the
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existential teaching. the teaching that deals with thetransformation of the way we live in the world.
June 7 at 8:17pmLike5
oShivaram KrishnanIn some cases I trusted SPS ji, inother cases I did not follow what he told, and learnt thehard way
June 7 at 8:47pmLike1
oShanta SankaranOur usual problem is that we viewthese values as something that we 'have to' rather thanwhat we 'want to'. When reasoning given in this articleis understood, we can see that the practice can reduceand eventually remove our mental suffering in our
every day life.That additional immediate gain in terms of mentalpeace and health can provide us the motivation.
June 8 at 5:20amLike2
o
Bede CliffordShanta you make a very good point here. Ifa value is not our value then our minds will not tendtowards it. It is only by the discovery for ourselves thevalue of a value. Swami Dayananda says "when thevalue of the value becomes valuable to me it is only thenthat the value is mine. Without trying i will have astriving in me that tends toward that value. Only thencan I effectively practice living it. Dharma is written in
our hearts. It is the voice of God. in every situation we
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face we will listen to the voice of God in the form of aprompting to do what is right or we will listen to thevoice of our disires and aversions prompting us to do
they prompt us to do. my teacher says that surrenderingour will to dharma is the true bharkti because wesurrender to the lord in the form of dharma.
June 8 at 6:23amLike5
oBede Cliffordwe either serve the Lord by responding towhat is given by his hand. or we serve our desires andaversions. It is in our very best interests to serve the lordby listening and obeying. this brings us into harmonywith the the universe obtaining as the law and order.god does not punish us for our sins. Swamini says it islike if we eat poisonous food we get a belly ache this issimply how the laws work. it is not personal. If we protect
Dharma Dharma will protect us. we can rely on thisprinciple because it is relying on God.
June 8 at 6:31amLike2
oVinita Lakshmy VenkataramanThis part of your articleraised a doubt - is it necessary to first experience thesuffering due to this dependence in order to gainfreedom ? Is there a natural sequence here - firstsamsara and then moksha ?
June 8 at 7:43amLike
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shwin KhambadkoneSuffering happens due to wrongassumption that I am with limited adjuncts...if there isno wanting or wanting to become..it is freedom. Atman
is always free...confusion causes the assumption that oneis limited...removal of that false notion removes the needfor external objects. Concept of freedom is only for themwho assumed that they were not free.
June 8 at 7:46amUnlike3
oShivaram KrishnanSo have I done a mistake byassuming I am not free.; ) ( trick question )
June 8 at 7:55amviamobileLike
oBede CliffordDayanada says something to the effectthat only when we see that we suffer the disease will wesee the value of the solution. with this said Vedantastudy will make this clearer as well. the recognition ofour dependence on objects as an existential condition ofslavery. the condition is an "as though condition". it isnot a reality but an expereince. if it was our realitythere would be no solution. but the desire for moksha iswhat will make our minds turn to vedanta more andmore .good desire to have. a blessing in fact eventhough it is resolved in the final vision. when you needobjects for your happiness you will suffer. every timepeople don't do what you want you will hate consciouslyor unconsciously.when you lose what you think you need
you will be sad.the thought that you might lose what youhave is the basis of fear.
June 8 at 7:59amUnlike3
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oShivaram KrishnanI think its like watching a 3d moviewith 3d glasses. Guru gives you a nice 3d glass (teaching) one has to wear it and see. But in order towear it we need some preparation, the head does notaccept this 3d glass. So we do karma yoga and finallythe glass that is in the pocket all the time ( enoughshravanam nidhidhyasansm) and you just wear it andsee . Things become bit clearer. Same old movie though
June 8 at 8:02amviamobile
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oshwin KhambadkoneAssumption is I am limited and I
need something or need to become someone. Freedom isneed from external objects and circumstances.
June 8 at 8:03amLike
oBede CliffordShivaram very nice analogy
June 8 at 8:09amLike
oBede Cliffordhere is a few quotes by my teacher the lastone is very important and tends to be overlooked.
June 8 at 8:16amLike
oBede CliffordStillnessStillness is always with us. When it is discovered, you
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never lose it; if it is attained, it does not stay.
Love
Love is nonfaultfinding accommodation.
MeditationMeditation upon anything other than the nature of theAtma will simply result in mental steadiness. Meditationupon the nature of the Atma alone (contemplation) willresult in its ascertained vision, which itself is moksha.
MokshaKarma yoga without jnanam (knowledge) will beincomplete. Jnanam without karma yoga will beimpossible.
June 8 at 8:16amUnlike8
oShivaram KrishnanYa I often felt the last one wasimportant. Thanks for this.
June 8 at 8:18amviamobileLike
oshwin KhambadkoneExcellent! Stillness discovered.
Swami Dayananda says Karma Yoga is attitude.Attitude comes from knowing what is most important.
June 8 at 2:28pmEditedLike1
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Part 3 Conversationsoo 13 peoplelike this.o
Shantti ChandraDepend on the guru, scripture andGod Is the truth.It will lead us to the right path and itwill open our eyes to the things that we could not seeourself.
June 16 at 7:40amLike2
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Part 4 Conversationso Prashant Parikhand18 otherslike this.o Dinesh VasandaniYour discussion is very similar to the
teaching of observing or witnessing the mind. Ex - I amupset with someone vs oh my mind is upset and I the selfis the observer of the mind. Pretty cool stuff
June 11 at 4:59amviamobileLike
oBede CliffordWhen it comes to the teaching aboutobserving or witnessing the mind Swami Dayanandahas an interesting take on this. He says you are theproblem you are the solution. We tend to think otherthings are the problem. People, conditions and in thiscase the mind. This is an unfortunate erroneous idea.One my teacher cured me of early on thank God. I hadsuffered from this erroneous all my life and as a resultengaged in a lot of wasted effort struggling with themind.
When I was formally studying psychotherapy I wastaught and believed the problem was the mind. This is
understandable because people present with depression,anger, anxiety, interpersonal conflict, compulsivelydoing things that are not in their best interests andcompulsively not doing what would be in their bestinterests. Because people think that the mind is theproblem they think that the mind is upset and because ofthis they set about trying to do something about it. Ifthey take a spiritual approach they try to deal with the
mind by witnessing it in order to deal with the problem.
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This is a misdirected effort. Swami Dayananda has aradically different view and a radically differentapproach.
A mental reaction is a happening and it can beunpleasant just like cold weather. But that is never theproblem. The problem is not centred on the mind it iscentred on I. I am the one who is angry say. Not mymind is angry. When the I sense and the emotionalreaction become one and the same then I have a senseof identity with the emotion. It is as though I have
become the mind. In this case the mind in the form ofthe anger. (we never become anything in terms ofreality because we are always ourselves) If the mind isthe problem then the solution is out of our hands.Through the teaching I can come to a sense of myself asdistinct from the mind /sense/ body complex. Not theidea that I am distinct from the mind, but a real senseof myself as distinct from my mind. When a mental
reaction occurs I either don't become it but am myselfin spite of it. Or if I do become it as soon as I takeownership of my sense of myself as distinct from the mindthere is no problem. This happens when theunderstanding (what I am in the light of the scriptures)becomes active in me because when this happens I willrecover this sense of myself. The mind was never theproblem it was my being identified with the anger. I amalso the solution.
The differentiation of the subject of knowledge from theobjects of knowledge is vital as a first step In Vedanta.This is not an idea but the discovery of a sense of myselfas distinct from the mind body complex. My teachermade it very clear from the beginning you can't
contemplate what you don't know. The contemplativedisposition of the mind can't arise without this first
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basic step. This is not mystical or some spiritual la laland. It is simply cognitive. This disposition is simply thedisposition towards simply being with myself as myself.
This is not possible when my sense of self is the same asmy physical condition, sense organs, organs of actionand the condition of the mind.
When I am with myself as myself the mind is never aproblem. It is true that in the ultimate vision the truthof the observer and the truth of the object are one andthe same. But there is no epistemological(in terms of
knowledge) leap from identification with the mind tothe total vision . Unless you happen to be a RamanaMarharshi. We have to discover a distinctness as aknowing subject from the mind/body/sense complex first.
June 11 at 9:52amLike9
oshwin KhambadkoneNidhidyasana! continuous and
conscientious effort to bring in the teaching in everymoment.
June 11 at 1:11pmLike1
oRavi EaswaranThe Yoga Sutras also given a keeninsight into this. I am giving the first four sutras inChapter 1; along with my commentary (any defects aresolely mine )- The fourth Sutra tells us that as long aswe do not see the mind as something separate from "I" ,we are bound to experience its modifications.
.Now begins the study of Yoga .
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Atha = Now. : Yoga= Yoga-the science of Unity;Anushashanam study, discipline.
Atha means Now. It can be taken to mean that this isthe appropriate time to begin the study of Yoga Sutras.What is meant by Now ? The present moment. The past isover. No action is possible in the past. The future has not
yet come. No action is possible in the future. Thereforethe only time to begin the study is the present moment.The import of this statement is that that best time tobegin the study of yoga is just now. Do not wait for the
future, for there is no certainty about the future. Beginnow.------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Yoga is the cessation of modifications of the mind.(a) YogaDerived from the Sanskrit root Yuj meaningto yoke, join, unite. Yoga is therefore the term used todescribe the practices through which we (Jiva-individual consciousness) unite with the Atman(Universal Consciousness).(b) Citta.. There is no exact equivalent in English forCitta. It may be noted that Citta used in the Yoga
Sutras is not the same as the Citta of Vedanta. Citta ofVedanta is one role in the four roles played by the mindie Manas, Buddhi, Citta and Ahankar. In Vedanta Cittais used to refer to the mind when it is delving intomemory. Patanjali however uses the term to refer to thetotal mind, a use which has led commentators to coinexpressions like mind stuff to explain the meaning ofthe phrase. If one consults the Sanskrit dictionary, one
sees various meanings adduced to it eg. noticing,
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disturbances die away. For that we need to look at theroot cause of such disturbances.-------------------------------------------------------------------
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Then, the witness regains his own form.
(a) Tada- Then(b) Drustr (uhu)- witness (of) of the witness
(c) Sva Own(d) Rupe form(e) Avasthana- residence, abiding, taking up, standing
The word Tada is usually paired with Yada ie Yada Tada ie to say Yada condition X Tada Condition Y. InEnglish we can translate roughly as When.then.Therefore in the previous Sutra Yada is to beunderstood. Therefore the two Sutras are to be read inconjunction and the meaning is to be understood asWhen the modifications of the mind cease, then theWitness resides in his own nature, own true form.Who is the witness ? The individual soul the Jiva. The
Jiva is the one who resides in this body and uses thisBody-mind-Intellect complex as a vehicle for its journey
through life. Unfortunately, the Jiva, throughignorance, is completely identified with the Body Mind-Complex and is convinced that this (complex) is his truenature. This being so, all the experiences which the bodymind complex is subject to in the journey of life aretaken by the Jiva as its own experiences and thereforethe Jiva(we) experience all the ups and downs of lifewhich we call likes, dislikes, joy, sorrow etc. It is not the
experiences themselves which bother us ..it is our
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reactions to those experiences which cause the pleasureand pain. These reactions are what we call thoughts..theVrittis in the Citta.
These Vrittis are disturbances and, as we all know, attimes when the flow of thoughts slow down ( earlymorning, approaching sleep or just getting up ), weexperience a sense of peace. This peace is because as thethoughts slow down, the veil between Atman, our truenature-Svarupa, and us gets thinner. In truth, thethoughts themselves are the material from which thisveil is constructed. As thoughts thin down, it is the faint
ray of bliss of the Atman, shining through the veil, thatcauses us to be more peaceful at such times. Imaginethen the Bliss that will arise when all thoughts cease, theveil completely vanishes and we are established in theAtman.The Sutra confirms this by stating that when thoughtshave been stilled, what remains is our true nature(Svarupa), the Atman.
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