FIND THE PEACE WHICH IS ALWAYS WITHIN YOU FREE VEDANTA ONLINE COURSE TUESDAYS, 7PM BRAZILIAN TIME AT satsangaonline. com. br Having established this vision on the four steps comprised in spirituality, we are now able to establish what Vedanta and Vedic tradition are, more properly.
Vedanta, thus, or yoga in its essence, so to speak, the whole of yoga, because yoga is only a word that represents a set of disciplines within the Vedic tradition. Vedanta is nothing but the end part of the Vedas, its essence, its message. The message of yoga is then also called Vedanta, and the discipline of one who studies Vedanta is called yoga, a life of yoga.
There's no separation between yoga and Vedanta, they're one. If we had to try and understand, now, what Vedanta is, then Vedanta will be what is beyond those four first steps, that which aims at bringing one to the present moment, bringing the person back from that mind-trip where the person is always engaged in hard planning so as to conquer the world and be happy, to make things change, and only then comes the answer one had been looking for. There is a way to free one's mind from this ceaseless pursuit of happiness, this ceaseless pursuit of becoming someone else.
Now, here's why there is a trap at the four steps: because my goal, within yoga, is not to change my mind or body, none of the kind. It's about finding peace and happiness despite all problems that my body and mind will always have. The masters usually say that the mantra a person gets within the Vedic tradition is the Gayatri.
Have you ever heard this mantra? It has a very interesting meaning. Some people will grant it its literal meaning, which is correct: "Om bhur bhuvah suvah": Om is a name for God, "bhuh, buvah, suvah" are three vyahrtis, three words that work as mantras three words that work as mantras that, when invoked, bring about peace and auspiciousness to the place.
So, saying "bhuh bhuvah suvah" is like saying "abracadabra", they're special words, without any other meaning, their meanings have been created for them. "Tatsaviturvarenyam" "Bhargo devasya dhimahi" I meditate, "dhimahi", in the greatness of the Sun, "tat savituh", of that Sun, "tat savituh", "varenyam", in the greatness of the Sun. "Bhargo devasya" "bhargah" means the rays, the light, the blessings, "devasya", from the gods.
So, I meditate in the greatness of the Sun, which is the blessing of the Gods, which is the light of the Gods, which is a divine light. The light of the Sun is a divine light. "Dhiyo yo nah pracodayat" That it, "dhiyo yo nah" our, "nah", "dhiyah", mind, "pracodayat", may it bless, stimulate our minds.
Stimulate our minds for us to win bingo jackpots? No. Of course not.
For me to be quicker? You hear 19 and write it quickly: a stimulated mind? That's not the meaning.
Stimulate our minds has to do with showing us the way, what is the way for me to find, with this individuality, the peace I seek. This is the deep meaning of all the Vedas. All the Vedas can be summed up in the Gayatri.
The masters say that, if you need to chant one single mantra from all Vedas, someone initiated by the tradition, which mantra do you chant? Gayatri. Its meaning represents what the Vedas want to operate in you.
Then, why do the Vedas teach rituals for having children? There are indeed such rituals. But why perform them?
Well, if one wants it. . .
The Vedas are available so as to grant people all they can't see. "Is there a ritual for procreating? " "Yes, let me teach it to you".
"Do you want to become famous? There is a way. " I'll tell you the secret, but don't go and do it!
Throw popcorn inside the homa kunda for Ganesha. By throwing popcorn for Ganesha, it's said you'll become famous. The Vedas say such things.
Is this like a mojo, a ritual? It is a ritual. The Vedas have rituals.
Whatever you wish for, the Vedas will make available. But everything that is made available is accompanied by an antibody. For instance, let's say you're praying for Ganesha.
With whatever mantra, let's see. does everyone know: "vakratunda mahakaya"? Have you heard it?
No. Here it is: "vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha nirvighnam kuru me deva sarvakaryeshu sarvada" Its meaning is very simple: "sarvakaryeshu", in all my actions, "sarvada", always, "nirvighnam", freedom from obstacles "kuru", may you do that. Who?
"Vakratunda", the one with the curved trunk, "mahakaya", a giant body, "suryakoti samaprabha", that shines as thousands of suns, "suriakoti", "sama", equal, "prabha", that shines as thousands of suns. Ok, in principle we'll call that a prayer: "this person believes in a God named Ganesha, and he follows his belief". But that's not the vision.
How could one believe that God has a body of a child and an elephant head? Right? The purpose is not to establish a belief for someone else.
On the contrary: do you know why the child body and the elephant head? Because it's the only way to break our definitive separation between animals and humans. If you imagine God as being a person, you'll imagine him with all the attributes of a human being: he'll be bitten by mosquitoes, he'll be emotional, partial, etc.
If you imagine Him like an elephant, you'll think of Him as an animal. So, how could He create something that is the cause of both humans and elephants? "So, think of god as having this head and body!
" Oh! Now my mind can no longer categorize. It can't call it neither an animal nor a person, or even believe!
"I believe God has an elephant head. " That's ridiculous! No one believes in it, even in India.
People revere those images with lots of devotion and respect, with a perspective on a tradition where symbols exist. We can use "Om", a cross or whatever to symbolize the cause of the universe, and there is a symbolic reason for the elephant head and the child body, you see? So, the person starts praying, and she'll ask: "Please, remove all obstacles from my life", but, while she's doing that, her object of meditation is a symbol, Ganesha, which pushes her into a spiritual pursuit, because she needs to understand Ganesha's head and body.
Because it's the opposite of our experience: we see old bodies carrying children's mindsets. Like an elephant body and a child head. But Ganesha is the opposite: child body and elephant head!
So, an inquiry begins. It's as if the Vedas and the tradition were like a mother: whatever you ask from her, she'll grant you. But, whenever she does something, she tries to bring you back to this perception that happiness is not apart from you.
And she'll came up with a way to make it harder for you to ask, until you bind yourself with this tradition and a life purpose that is not about changing the world. As I said in an introduction video to our website, it is totally irrational to think that our happiness depends on the world to change. How would it please us all?
The world has to be one way for you and another for me, and my desires change, too, so the world has to keep up: "I like John Doe, so everybody must love him. " "Now, I don't like him anymore, so everybody. .
. " Come on! You see?
Hanging our happiness on that is like worrying about the World Cup: if my happiness depends on a 7x1 score, I'm lost! And forever: if I go and teach in Argentina, people will mock me about the 7x1. What can I do?
At least they didn't win the World Cup! Well, the main flow within tradition will arise in this second moment, in which the person is invited into a pursuit which is different from all others. But even to start this pursuit, one needs to know Vedic tradition.
No one goes in a quest for happiness all by oneself, automatically. It's not possible. Automatically, we only do what we're used to, what everyone is doing, and that is chasing after something external to solve their problems.
Even if it is a mantra: a mantra is also external. Deep down, the goal, the final truth that must be understood by me isn't granted through any mantra, ritual, prayer to whatever god you may imagine. That's not what this process is about.
The process is of self-knowledge. Of looking cognitively to this that you call "I" and see that there is an error. When you say: "I am Jonas", "I am Carlos", "I am Celine", I am whoever is watching this, think about it: how can I be this body?
Ok, I am contained in this body, I can touch things, I only see what's before me, well, fine, I'm not discussing that. But this body is formed of five elements. None of such elements think.
Do you think? Yes, thank God! So, how can you say you are this body?
"No, but, within the brain, there are electrical connections. " Right. Does a computer think?
It has electrical connections. If you combine a bunch of matter and shock it, will it think? Let's think: combine stones and shock them with 220v.
Do you know what it's called? Frankenstein complex. That's the plot of "Frankenstein", the movie: how to create intelligence?
Mix a bunch of non-thinking matter and shock it. We do think about that, but it's nonsense! Of course it doesn't work.
Electricity doesn't think, stones don't think, how can they think if they're combined? Right. "No, forget thinking.
" Ok, then, what's next? "You eat, don't you? " Yes.
"When you eat, you grow. " "You grow up and fat. " Right.
But, being a vegetarian, let's imagine. I eat a cheese puff. You eat a cheese puff.
When does it become you? In what body organ? You put it in your mouth and chew it.
Did it become you? No. It is only being chewed in my mouth.
You swallowed it. Where's the cheese puff? In your stomach.
Is it you? No. You'll say: "Right now, the cheese puff is in my stomach".
Right. It's in your intestines, now, following the stomach. It is now.
. . how is it, again?
Liquefied cheese puff. It's lost its from, but it's there: Cheese puff juice in your intestines. Is it you?
If you took it out and put it in a glass, would that be you? "No, it's not", you'd say. "It's only in my intestines".
The cheese puff juice made it into the blood. Right. Is it you because it's in your blood?
No, it's not me. Of course it's not me! If you have your blood screened, the cheese puff will come out!
You're as big as before, but it has come out. Nothing has changed. Right.
It's inside the cell. It's digested by the cell. It's transformed by the cell.
The cell throws it back into the blood. Is it you? Venous blood containing the transformed cheese puff.
Is it you? No. It gets filtered by the kidneys.
It's in your bladder. Is that you? If you say "yes", what a big problem!
It's not you, it goes out! Where did the cheese puff become me? In which point?
But we eat the cheese puff and we say: "Now, I grew". So, in my daily life, there is an error being held as true. A simple error lying in affirming that "I am this body".
A simple error lying in affirming that "I am my emotions". The only reason why I want to destroy my mind, destroy my emotions and get rid of all anger is because I and the anger are one. I believe that, when I'm angry, I'm one with the anger.
But, think, for you to say: "I feel anger", you must be different from the anger. For you to see anger, anxiety, joy, sadness, the "I" has to be different from all those, or else you wouldn't see them. You only see what's not you.
In our ordinary lives, a cognitive error is constantly maintained. A error in perspective, and, according to the Vedas, that's the root of your suffering. It's the cause for me to long for changing myself and the world: I can't see myself as someone acceptable for me.
Being this body, this mind, this set of emotions isn't acceptable for me, for what I'd like to be. People will then ask: "What would you like to be? " I'd like to be infinite.
I'd like to be immortal. I'd like to be free from any kind of afflictions, fears, anguish. I'd like to be sitting through life as one who watches a movie, in peace.
If it's a horror movie, I'll be afraid, but I'll be fine. If it's a drama, I'll cry but I'll be fine. This is what I'd like to be.
"Oh, so you'd like to live in isolation from everyone? " No, not at all! People just want isolation because they can't bear each other.
If you ask a mother who has a beloved son if she wants to become spiritual by going into isolation, you'll see it's not true. It's not true. On the contrary, it's a fantasy: "If I leave everyone, everything will be fine.
" It won't. In a cave, we'll curse the wall, bang our heads against it, but we won't be fine. Because being fine doesn't depend on what's happening around me.
It doesn't depend whether I'm in my bedroom or a cave. When I try to solve a problem with a tool other than the one suitable for my problem, it's unsolvable. My master used to say: "Try to switch off the light by sweeping the floor".
Try it. -"But, master! " -"Try it.
Sweep the light. " And you sweep. -"Master, it didn't work.
" -"Try again. " "I don't want to try again. " So you understood the foundations of what the Vedas have to offer.
Only once your mind is willing not to try again, that is, once it sees that changing the world cannot make you happy and whole, this is when the Vedas come in. Up until then, there is a false link between sweeping and the light. While this link is there, there is no solution.
What will the Vedas say? "To switch off the light, use the light switch". If you need to become immortal, feel endlessly whole, free from everything, live wherever you want without restrictions, this kind of benefit doesn't come through external change.
You'll have to agree. Think about it. Say you're sitting at home.
I love this example! It also used to be my reality: I worked in the financial market, owned a business and studied mechanical engineering. I worked hard and did everything as I was told by society.
When I was at home, before leaving the house, if I sat on my bed, as I tried to do once I started yoga, if I sat on my bed and closed my eyes, how long, you think, before an anxiety attack came up? Sitting on my bed with my eyes closed? Think.
A person with a tumultuous mind. I used to go from Praia Vermelha to downtown and, in the car, in 5 minutes, I'd change from an army uniform into a suit, while talking on the phone and driving. When I sat at my bed in the morning, it would last this long: it's over!
Impossible! Now, think: if I, being alone at home, with no one there, sit on my bed, close my eyes and can't stand myself, what could possibly happen in my life to make me like myself, be happy and at peace? I was in debt, I was lagging behind from the get go!
There is no way to solve such a problem! Now, think of the opposite. It's just a hypothesis: I sit at my bed in the morning, regardless of what will happen at work, what day today is, if my car crashed, etc.
, but I sit at my bed, close my eyes, look at myself and my life and remain at peace. Think about it, intuitively, even if this is just the second session of our first class, what could steal my peace, effectively, if I'm at peace on my own, regardless of going to work or not, What can actually steal my peace? Nothing.
Nothing steals the peace of one who is in peace with oneself. No one can be apart from oneself, see? There is, then, a very high chance of me finding peace in my heart.
And this chance doesn't depend on changing the world, my body, childhood issues, no! This is all important: I want to live in a healthy place, get along with my family, avoid surgery, all this. This hasn't been pushed aside.
But, if there is a way for me to be in peace, it isn't about working on all this and controlling variables: I must find peace within myself, regardless of all that. This is the very message of Vedanta. This peace is available.
It requires nothing but a cognitive change. Performing such a cognitive change is what this study does. This is why this study takes place through groups and classes, because, in this process, we accomplish this cognitive change.
It's a method with a beginning, a middle and an end. It starts in a certain way, and, as we go through the topics, it cleans the mind, and, with such clarity, you get to see who you really are, regardless of your body, mind and emotions. And, thank God, I am exactly what I was seeking for: immortality, freedom, all such words are, in fact, a synonym to "I".
But, right now, I can't see it. Right now, I can't grasp this understanding in depth. A deep understanding is the very goal of studying Vedanta, and the very reason for me to have spent four years building my capacities in India.
It wasn't just out of love for India: I do love India, especially because of this tradition, but spending 4 years in an ashram is no walk in the park: people don't go there because "it's a place with good energies! " No! Living in a "Big Brother" setting for 4 years with people who want spirituality.
. . it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing!
You don't want to repeat it. You know? But it's very good and gratifying, especially as you grow in understanding and get to tap into the benefits of this study.
So, having covered this, we'll wrap up this class, this second session. If you have any questions or would like to share experiences, which is very interesting for the group, send it to me, so that I can forward relevant and non-personal comments. It's very good for us to create a team spirit, which is needed for this cognitive change to take place.
I hope it's a blessing for me and you to engage in this course. That's it! See you next week.
Any comments? I'll chant a mantra, now, and then we can chat. The classes shall take place on a weekly basis: every Tuesday, we'll have two 30-minute sessions.
And I think it will last for two months, but it's not a fixed plan. I have a set of topics to cover, and, if questions arise, we can extend it, or speed it up if it becomes too repetitive. But it usually takes two months to cover the fundamental topics, which have to be explained before you are able to walk into this tradition without looking back, so to speak.
This is the idea behind this course: walk us through those initial steps. Will you use any texts? Can we have them in beforehand?
Well, see, these classes are only teacher-student based. In case you'd like to read something, I recommend our website's texts, since they've been written exactly for this moment, a pre-study phase, before traditional Sanskrit study texts. They were developed for this.
There's also our book, "Fundamentos do Yoga", which has also been written for this phase. You can buy it from our website, if you're interested. To get started, you could read: "What is the difference between spirituality and religion?
", "Is full happiness a belief? " is also a very good text for this moment. -And what's that other one?
-What was that second one? "Is full happiness a belief? " I think it's how it's called, and.
. . "What is Yoga?
", a very good one. We have discussed this. Ok, thank you.
They are all on our website, you don't need the book for them. FIND THE PEACE WHICH IS ALWAYS WITHIN YOU FREE VEDANTA ONLINE COURSE TUESDAYS, 7PM BRAZILIAN TIME AT satsangaonline. com.
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