FIND THE PEACE WHICH IS ALWAYS WITHIN YOU FREE VEDANTA ONLINE COURSE TUESDAYS AT 7 PM A PRODUCTION BY SATSANGA ONLINE COLLABORATE PLACE YOUR BRAND HERE -I can hear you well, too. -Oh, good! We have two minutes before our next session, and, for those who arrived now, go to our YouTube page and subscribe to our channel, to raise our numbers.
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. There are many people, today! "In meditation, you leave the external, and, thus, the external labels, and that's why yoga is a reunion with your true self, free from the labels received in Maayaa's world.
Is that it? One doesn't need meditation so as to drop labels. We put them aside through both meditation and sleeping, since meditation creates a mental state in which thoughts work differently from the waking state.
But our problem plays out in the waking state, not while sleeping! On the contrary: while sleeping, all is well. The main purpose of meditation is not to make us drop labels.
We drop them, temporarily, but due to an indirect effect. Meditation has a different purpose. Drpping labels has to be done awake, with an active mind.
Ok, now, session two. Off we go. Among the most surprising things of studying for years in India is the relationship we discover with our masters.
Such relationship is precious, not only for the direct knowledge we receive in classes, because this alone has unparalleled value, but there is an indirect understanding, an understanding that takes place when living with such masters, which makes us understand why that person is a master. More than what he know, it's about what his life represents in terms of behavior, of attitudes towards others. Sometimes, it's about virility: you're before someone, admiring his capacity of speaking in situations where you'd feel debilitated and incapacitated.
In other situations, it's about the broad perspective: you'll look at a master and see that he started an explanation thinking that, a few classes later, he'd have to say this and that, and he paved the way in our minds. Amazing! In other situations, in other masters, we'll see an amazing capacity of.
. . of meditating, of putting minds at ease: his mind becomes peaceful in such a deep way that yours will, too.
Just sit and meditate with him. Just look at him and you're there! It's a skill acquired through practice.
Amazing! But there is a capability which truly makes a master: all the others do not make anyone a master. There is only one capability that does that.
This is the true secret meaning of the word "master". In Sanskrit, a master is referred to by "swami" A "swami" is a "master", in Sanskrit. Swami means the one who has power, "ishate", one who has power.
Over "swa", oneself. Swami is the one who has his power in himself. Interesting, right?
What makes one's power not to be with oneself? If you watched the previous class, you'll know: the labels. A swami is a person who overcame the barrier of labels and sees himself as he is!
Regardless of what society, his family and all think of him. Do you know what happens when one pulls this off? One becomes an extremely pleasant company.
Because no one can stand social labels. No one! It's very uncomfortable to bear the feeling of not belonging to the group, you know?
And the social expectations for us are ridiculous! What is a pretty woman? A successful man?
A yoga teacher? "A yoga teacher can't feel anger". This is an important label.
Everyone is frustrated from the get go: we all feel it! You then live immersed in labels, uncomfortably, and then you find a person who gets to be himself, and you ask him: "Swami, what disciplines are required to become a swami? " He'll say: "All you need to become a swami is to be beyond all disciplines.
" Disciplines aren't needed for becoming a swami. However, dropping disciplines takes a lot of discipline! So, we must use all the force of the relative world, all the methods we create, so as to overcome the methods!
And, since one must accomplish this. . .
say, total inversion of one's perspective, the teacher is key. If you want to take a yoga class and the teacher corrects all alignments, a very good teacher, indeed, and you get to class rather anxious, trying to go through class as quickly as possible, master so many asanas and all, you know? At the end of the day, you may even have a healthy body and have conquered all such asanas.
It's true! But the underlying goal is to drop the competitive mind. Even if the teacher only knows one asana, and, namely, tadaasana, and shavaasana, since everyone can do this one, if he's able to make one drop the internal competitor, he'll have achieved more than one who had taught you all asanas in the book.
Achieved more! What's the gain in touching the head with the feet? While in a growth process, it's as if one wanted to reunite all the power spread through labels and gather it back into oneself, thus accepting who one is, with all of one's defects.
And this hurts. Since we have a labeled view on what perfection is, when one finally looks at oneself and sees the label doesn't fit, one suffers. One says: "Oh, man, I wish I were more truthful, but I see that I lie in certain circumstances.
" It's very hard for the ego to accept this. Yes, since, according to the label, a truthful person doesn't lie. A good person doesn't lie, and no one wants to lie.
We all cherish the truth. But lying happens: what should we do? What should we do?
Pretend we don't lie? Pretend we don't feel angry? Pretend we have a perfect life, untroubled minds and personas?
It won't work, see? One must be able to perform this internal movement and discover a type of humbleness, that I'm a normal person and that I'm dealing with others who have problems, too. Once this feeling is there, something sprouts in me: it's called "divya dhuuni", a divine wave.
When touched by these words, isn't there a surge in your hearts? This is called "divya dhuuni": it's a feeling every human being has when invited into his humanity, when invited into being whole. A whole person doesn't need to hide any of her parts: she doesn't need to pretend to be perfect.
She is what she has going on internally. This is the goal of Yoga from a relative perspective. To relate with people, one must reach such internal honesty, present oneself which such energy.
A swami, is, thus, a person that masters himself to an extent, and such mastering isn't restrictive, but welcoming, to an extent in which there are no longer ties. He is what you see right there. You sit before him, and, if he gives you bad news, that he's trying to scold you or has something against you.
If he says something good, you also won't feel like he thinks you're special, that he's trying to talk you up. . .
No, he's just that. Like a watch: -"What time is it? " -"19:50".
He is what he is, and it's cozy to be in such relationships. So, we say that, within the context of yoga, what pushes two people away in their relationship is the incapacity of people of exposing their vulnerability. We project an idea of how we should be so as to be liked, and we are constantly striving to display such projections.
Why? Because we like people, we want them to like us. Be them friends, students, boyfriends, spouses, whatever.
You want them to like you, so you put out the set of labels that should make you likeable. But that is not you, it will never be. All those labels are absurd, see?
It will never be you. So, what happens? Others don't relate to me, but to a mask I put out, right?
And they do the same: I don't relate to them, but the mask they put out to me. Necessarily, I can't feel loved by others, because they don't even know who I am! "I hate pizza, but I can't tell her that, since she loves it, she'll never date me again, so let's pretend I like it.
" We're now at a pizza restaurant, and I'm in pain, here! -"What are we ordering? " -"A salad.
. . " "No way!
Pizza! " You'll think: "Oh, man. .
. ! " And do you think the other will be happy?
Who likes eating pizza with someone making faces, without even knowing why: -"What's wrong? " -"Nothing! " Come on!
Don't we see that in our relationships? -"What's with the face? " -"Oh, nothing.
" -"How come? You look disgusted! " -"Nah.
It will go away. " The other will do the same, and there will be faces all over. Why?
Because my self-image doesn't please me, it doesn't, and I can't drop it! I just can't. The other person can't, either, so both collide all the time.
If there is a path for harmony to exist between two people, this path can only open up by exposing one's human side. One's humanity. All labels are part of a big illusion, such indoctrinations.
An illusion of a sold happiness, a sold persona one should be. When we can simply state who we are, we're free right then and there. We relate freely to others.
I'd love my life with others to unfold without planned speeches: to be able to speak freely from my heart, and I'd like other to be able to do the same. Also, I want to be able to listen to others, not only to speak, but also to listen, free from judgment, thus seeing who they are. We sometimes live with people for years, but we don't know who they truly are.
Labels become eternal. They don't go away with time. "After 30 years, both dropped all their labels.
. . " - No!
Labels only go away through Yoga. Yoga, in this context, means "effort". The effort of Yoga.
When it's well performed, too. One will learn how to drop mental labels. How to drop all such concepts that hinder me from relating to others.
This is an extremely difficult subject. I dared to speak about it in this course, and I feel nervous because I can't see all of you, I can't feel what you are feeling and embrace all the feelings that may surge. But I hope you may feel this honesty of trying to convey something that makes a difference in my life, that I see is the brightest pearl to be found among great masters.
I hope I might have contributed to your individual paths. It' very hard to drop labels. It's hard to let go of our identities.
Everything is based on it. Often times, we go through life thinking: "I'm a Yoga teacher. I'm an engineer.
I'm this and that. I'm a spouse, I'm. .
. " And, suddenly, all those things are part of one's problem, see? The fact that one sees oneself so close to a role one performs doesn't allow for much wiggle room between actor and character so that one can laugh!
Laugh at the issues the wife has, the daughter's problems, the friend's problems. One feels imprisoned. What we'll be doing from now on is to work with all such roles progressively, so that internal distance grows between the character and the actor who is behind the character.
The knowledge of Vedanta has the purpose to show us a reality which is beyond all such roles. Everything in our lives, also in the one labeled "spiritual life", that takes us in the direction of becoming a whole person, "om", is positive, see? Regardless of names.
Who cares? All that takes us further away from being simple and happy, regardless of names, isn't of interest. It won't be good for us.
So, we must now have an internal firmness. It's almost like a call to firmness. Teaching takes place in many steps, and the mind goes through a process which is a cleaning process, for sure.
So, that's it. I'd also like to suggest that you read a few texts: some of you have the book, but they're available on the website. Go and look those up: "What is Yoga?
", "How much does a Yoga class cost? " "What is Yoga for? " and "What is the origin of Yoga?
" Those for texts talk about subjects related to Yoga in a very objective way, helping us transcend labels and acquire respect for all we've been through. Those of you who are following the classes, please read those texts. I was going to say something else, but I forgot!
Anyway. Any questions before we wrap up? -Hi, I have a question.
-Go ahead. Vedanta itself has a label, right? Like, yesterday I asked my teacher about Vedanta and she said it's too theoretical: "we focus more on the practice".
-Even this isn't free! -It's tough, indeed! -Just commenting.
-It's right. Everything has been already judged. -Biases all around!
-Indeed. Even the word "Vedanta" has complications. That's why it takes many blessings to get to study Vedanta.
Before you get to it, many people will say many things. "Where is your Vedanta from? ", you know?
Vedanta is only a subject. No one is Vedanta: "He is a vedantin, he studies Vedanta". This is nonsense: Vedanta frees one from labels, instead of creating a new one!
That's not the point. "Are there materials for teaching Vedanta to children? " Well, one can teach children Vedanta through Puranic stories.
Vedanta is dissolved in the stories of the Vedic tradition. If you read such stories, except for the Gita, where Vedanta is the main teaching and is not meant for children, but if you take the stories of the characters, the different deities, you can tell them to children, to teach the people morals and ethics and knowledge. That's it, guys!
See you next Tuesday. Oh, I must tell them about the meet-up! Look, I don't know whether you'll be interested in going, but there is an annual meeting of all students which will be in Belo Horizonte, at Serra do Cipó.
It will be from October 9th to 12th. Those of you who will enroll to our full course should come, since it's a chance for all of us to meet. Even those who won't enroll but are following this course will be very welcome in our meet-up.
It will be fun. We'll have a few yoga classes, yoga, meditation, rituals in the morning, then Vedanta classes, and we'll walk around Cipó, which is a gorgeous site, and we'll leave there on Sunday. It's from Thursday to Sunday.
Those from Portugal may come, too! We'll squeeze you in. Many of you are from Portugal.
Next year, in August, I'll be in Portugal. We'll meet, then.
