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arsha vijnana gurukulam

Inside this IssueArticle by Pujya Swamiji

Gurukulam NewsNew CD - Pañcadaśī Chapter EightObituary - Siri Kaur Khalsa HarrisPunaḥ Pratiṣṭhā of Dakṣiṇāmūrthi, EugeneReport on One Month Pañcadashi- Chapter Eight Classes, EugeneWeekend Retreat, AtlantaReport on Viṣṇu Sahaśranāma Discourses, Washington DCPūrṇa Vidyā Class, Germantown, MD

ReflectionsThe Commitment of the Student

Regular FeaturesSatsang with SwaminijiSwaminiji’s Online Classes and Travel Schedule

Namaste Astu Bhagavān1

by Pujya Swami Dayanandaji

नम#$ अ#त' भगवि,व-.-राय महा3वाय

4य5बकाय 89प'रा,तकाय 89कालाि<कालाय

कालाि<=>ाय नीलकणठाय मBCय'Dजयाय

सवG-राय सदािशवाय Jीम,महा3वाय नम:

SaUKTaa Sūktā Autumn 2012

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namaste astu bhagavan-viśveśvarāya mahādevāya tryambakāya tripurāntakāya trikālāgni-kālāya kālāgnirudrāya nīlakaṇṭhāya

mṛtyuñjayāya sarveśvarāya sadāśivāya śrīmanmahādevāya namaḥ

Oh Lord, may this salutation be unto you who is the Lord of the universe, limitless and effulgent, all-knowing, the one who projects, sustains and takes back this universe, the one who is timeless and also the destroyer of time, all-pervasive, the conqueror of death, the Lord of all, and the ever auspicious one who is always a blessing.

This is a beautiful mantra. It is very good, especially for prāyaścita, and can be chanted when one feels guilty for one’s omissions and commissions.

Namaḥ, namaskār. Te, to you, astu, be. Bhagavān, Oh Lord! My namaskār unto you Oh Lord!

Namaḥ astu viśveśvarāya. You have to repeat namaḥ astu with each name. Viśveśvarāya. Īśvara, the Lord of the entire viśva, the entire jagat, the world. My namaskār unto the Lord of the entire world.

Mahādevāya, unto the one who is mahān, limitless, and a deva, effulgent.

Tryambakāya, unto the one who has three eyes. He knows the past, the present, and the future. He is all-knowing.

Tripurāntakāya, unto the one who is antaka, the one who brings an end of Tripura, the three puras, cities or worlds, bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and suvaḥ. Tripurāntakāya is the one who takes all the three worlds unto himself.

Trikālāgni-kālāya, unto the one who devours the three kālas, or time, which consists of the past, present and future. Kāla eva agniḥ kālāgniḥ. Agni means fire. Kālāgni, time, is such that, like fire, it distorts and

devours everything, and the Lord devours time itself. In other words, he is timeless, being the creator, the sustainer, and the destroyer of time.

Kālāgnirudrāya. He is the kāla-agni-rūpeṇa rudraḥ, the one who in the form of the kāla-agni, time, makes everybody weep, or in other words, he is the chastiser, the giver of the fruits of action, karmaphaladātā.

Nīlakaṇṭhāya, unto the one who is all-pervasive and manifest in the form of the jagat, whose kaṇṭha or neck is the blue sky. This is a beautiful vision of the whole jagat as a manifestation of Īśvara, with the blue sky being Bhagavān’s neck.

Mṛtyuñjayāya, unto the overlord of mṛtyu, death. The Lord of Death thought that he was the greatest, until he was made to realize that Īśvara was supreme. There are many interesting stories about this. The story of Mārkaṇḍeya is based upon this aspect of Īśvara.

Sarveśvarāya, unto the Lord of all the worlds, bhūḥ, bhuvaḥ and suvaḥ. He is the Lord of all beings, including the various devatās, deities.

Sadāśivāya, unto the one who, despite being the Lord of everything, is himself untouched by anything. The entire jagat is his manifestation, sustained by him and absorbed back unto him, but who is he? He is sadāśiva, of the nature of pure ānanda, the limitless Consciousness.

Śrīmanmahādevāya namaḥ, my namaskār unto the one who is śrīman mahādeva. Śrīman is śrīmat, which means śrīmān, one who is a blessing. In reciting this verse, we invoke the Lord in the form of śrīman mahādeva and seek his blessing.

1Excerpt from Prayer Guide published by Arsha Vidya Gurukulam Edited by Krishnakumar (KK) S. Davey and Jayshree Ramakrishnan.

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OBITUARY

Siri Kaur Khalsa-Harris was truly one of a kind. Fondly remembered and sadly missed, she will forever live in the hearts of all who were touched by her presence. A visionary ambassador of harmony and peace, her legacy will continue to thrive in the monthly Interfaith Prayer Services in Eugene and elsewhere. Siri Kaur was a deeply spiritual person and was a source of comfort and inspiration for many. She was an ardent student of Vedānta, and

had been attending classes regularly for a number of years. We pray for Bill and her loved ones to have the strength to cope with this irreplaceable loss.

Swamini Svatmavidyananda

The Pañcadaśī is a comprehensive and highly erudite book of fifteen chapters that unfolds the truth of oneself as the whole. Composed by Swami Vidyāraṇya in the 14th century, it teaches that the jīva, the individual, is Īśvara, the cause of the jagat. The book is divided into 3 quintads --vivekapañcaka, dīpapañcaka, and ānandapañcaka. Kūṭasthadīpa, the eighth chapter, is from the middle quintad, which deals with the nature of the self as caitanya, consciousness. The word "kūṭastha" has two meanings. In the first derivation, (kūṭavat tiṣṭhati iti) the ātman, self, is compared to an anvil

over which metal objects are shaped. Consciousness is immutable like the anvil. In the second derivation (kūṭe tiṣṭhati iti), the word "kūṭa" means māyā. Kūṭastha is that which obtains in māyā, as its adhiṣṭhāna, as its very truth. Just as the shirt cannot exist without fabric, so too, without the presence of the kūṭastha-ātman, the jagat has no being.

Within the body-mind-complex, the kūṭastha obtains as the witness, the ever present and self-evident "I", the illuminator of everything, including one's ignorance. It lights up the cidābhāsa, the changing vṛttis or thought modifications, which are responsible for the cognition of specific objects. Discriminating between the immutable kūṭastha, and

the ever-changing cidābhāsa, and identifying as the kūṭastha is self-knowledge.

The same kūṭastha manifests differently as jīva and Īśvara due to māyāśakti. Māyā, the magnificent seamstress, sews a grand robe of omniscience

donned by Īśvara, while cloaking the jīva in abject self- ignorance. Therefore, both jīvatvam and Īśvaratvam --the status of being a jīva or Īśvara-- are mithyā, while kūṭastha alone is. The kūṭastha --free of all attributes-- must be assimilated as the truth of oneself.This 3 CD set, containing 33 talks, provides a detailed explantation of the 76 verses of the Kūṭasthadīpa. It also includes a booklet of the text, with English transliteration, translation, and word-by-word meaning, for the convenience of the listener. The CD set was blessed by Pujya Swamiji in Saylorsburg to send to all the gurukulam bookstores and offer it for sale on Amazon.

New CD of Pañcadaśī, Chapter 8

If you wish to order a copy you can send 35 USD by paypal to the following link:http://www.arshavm.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=54

and write to arshagurukulam@yahoo.com with your address of where to send the CD set. Alternatively, you can mail check to:Arsha Vijnana Gurukulam, 1190 W 27th Ave, Eugene, OR 97405

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EditorialWhen asked to write an editorial for Sūkta, it provided the perfect opportunity recollect why Sūkta was first e-published. This excerpt from Swaminiji’s editorial in the first issue explains her intention.

The spiritual journey is a period of great transition. There is self-discovery and growth; and as one adapts to these changes, there is also self-doubt and vulnerability. Therefore, it is important to have time with the teacher, so that one's doubts do not hijack one from the path, and to surround oneself with a community of like- minded seekers so that one has the strength and the support to continue on the path. This newsletter will provide a much-needed space to facilitate one’s understanding of both the vision and the way of life.

Many students can find themselves living at a distance from like-minded people. How then to “surround oneself” by a like-minded community? Sūkta, is nothing but Swaminiji’s prasād, assuring all her students a community that is just that. As one reads through the articles one comes to know of other students on the same journey. In questions found in “Satsang with Swaminiji”, or in the student-written reflections, one is able to identify one’s own experiences with doubts and fears that may be surfacing. In articles written by Pujya Swamiji and Swaminiji, as well as by students who are reporting on classes and retreats, one will gain new insights into the life of a mumukṣu. One may also ascertain one’s own understanding of a particular point and find clarity where there was vagueness. Of course, one may also find vagueness where one had hitherto thought one had clarity - which of course is addressed by attending Swaminiji’s classes. Swaminiji’s class and travel schedule can also be found in Sūkta - there is of course, no substitute for these live teaching opportunities. The greatest gift for oneself is the commitment to attend Swaminiji’s classes.

I pray that all those who come to Swaminiji find refuge at her feet, clarity in their understanding of the truth, and the blessing of Swaminiji’s knowledge both in classes and the pages of Sūktā.OM

Punaḥ Pratiṣṭhā of Lord DakṣiṇāmūrtiBy E. Bhaskar

Swaminiji called me a couple of months back to build a new platform for Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti (for the Eugene shrine) and help with the aṣṭabandha ceremony. After a couple of visits to the shrine and consultations with Swaminiji we decided on the size of this platform. This was going to be roughly 50% bigger than the existing one. It was built in our garage out of plywood and granite tiles just in time for taking it to the shrine on the day before the ceremony, Saturday 18th of August. This platform turned out to be not only bulky but quite heavy. My son-in-law and I were pondering how to move the heavy platform from the stand to the car. Just about then we see several hefty High School football players going around the neighborhood seeking donations for their football program. At our request, they were kind enough to help us with lifting and moving the platform to the car. Indeed, the Lord finds ways to get his work done! Needless to say the platform was moved to the shrine on Saturday late afternoon without a hitch and set in place with the drain etc. The platform was duly cleaned with Ganga jal and sanctified by performing a pūja.As a part of this punaḥ pratiṣṭhā , Swamini suggested that we fix the

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Lord to the platform following the traditional sacred aṣṭabandha ceremony for which the aṣṭabandha resin was brought from India. We consulted the expert priests at Maryland Śrī Śiva-Viṣṇu Temple for the process and precautions to be taken during the ceremony itself. Under

Swaminiji’s guidance, we conducted several experiments with the aṣṭabandha itself a few days before the ceremony and refined the adhesion process. On Sunday 19th of August devotees collected at Harinder and Gordon’s house to participate in this unique and sacred ceremony of aṣṭabandha

and kumbhabiśekham of Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti. Swaminiji had prepared a detailed list of action items for all of us to follow which really helped in a smooth flow of the ceremony itself. The function started with a bhumi pūja and three homas. Śrī Mūkāmbikā Devi the presiding deity of the Śrī Mūkāmbikā-Mahādevā shrine graced the ceremony. During this time, Harinder, Gordon, Sucheta and myself were preparing the

aṣṭabandha by melting the same with a small quantity of oil on the stove. We would quickly take a pan of molten aṣṭabandha from the stove to the shrine and pour it on the platform around the idol. One of us would take a trowel and smooth out the joints. We took turns going through this process of melting, pouring, smoothing etc., for about half-an-hour to complete fixing the idol to the platform.

As the aṣṭabandha was setting we climbed the ladder and went up on the roof to install a gopura for the shrine. The gopura was attached to the roof just above the head of the Lord, and a brief pūja performed.After aṣṭabandha the Lord was prepared for performing the kumbhābhiśekha. The Lord went through kumbhabhiśekha, alankāra, aṣṭothara pūja, and bhajans, culminating in a moving ārati. We ended with a sumptuous prasād feast.What a day! By grace of Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti and guidance and blessings of Swaminiji the aṣṭabandha and kumbhabhiśekha went off successfully without any hitch. We are indeed blessed and privileged to participate in this whole process of punaḥ pratiṣṭhā of Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti in Eugene.

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Aṣṭabandha Pūja at Dakṣiṇāmūrthi Shrine in

Eugene

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AṣṭabandhaPūja

(continued)

Dakṣiṇāmūrthi

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Report on Pañcadaśī- Chapter Eight, Classes in Eugeneby Julie Carpenter

This August, Swamini Svatmavidyanandaji unfolded the Eighth Chapter, the Lamp of Kūṭastha, of the Pañcadaśī. For students both in Eugene and on-line, Swaminiji’s clarity, compassion, humour and added examples were absolutely necessary when the subtleties and details of the text threatened to take the students for a ride. The combination of Swami Vidyāraṇya’s relentless vicāra and Swaminiji’s ability to keep the student engaged through the technical discussions of this chapter, gave rise to a clearer understanding of the nature and functions of kūṭastha, meaning cit, and cidābhāsa. As Swaminiji said, the chapter answered the question, would the real Īśvara stand up?

Understanding the knowledge of the self as whole, as non-separate from Īśvara requires the meticulous unfolding by a teacher from a paraṁpara, an unwavering commitment on the part of the student and, without doubt, a lot of grace. As compassionate as the Upaniṣads are, one can be grateful for authors such as Swami Vidyāraṇya whose works include Pañcadaśī. This beautiful text when studied in its entirety leaves no stone unturned, no doubt lurking in the shadows of the unconscious, nothing that has the potential to derail one’s journey of knowing the truth of oneself.

Swami Vidyāraṇya in his characteristic style opens the chapter with an analogy that is used as a platform for the vicāra that will take place. The difference between kūṭastha and cidābhāsa, which is kūṭastha reflected in the antaḥkaraṇa, is likened to the difference between sunlight and mirror-reflected sunlight falling on a wall. Swaminiji gave three meanings for the word kūṭastha. Kūṭastha is formed from kūṭa

and ṣṭha. Ṣṭha, meaning to stay, when added to the first meaning of kūṭa, which Swaminiji described as a disorderly heap, brings in the meaning that ātman is seen as the one who is on top of the heap, or behind - as though upholding - the heap. The second and most commonly used meaning of kūṭa is anvil. For those unfamiliar with this

instrument, it is a piece of solid iron which is used by blacksmiths and metal-smiths to beat heated metal into various shapes and forms. Over many years of use, an anvil, despite being hammered again and again, will not show any signs of wear and tear. Swaminiji pointed to a third meaning used by Śaṅkarācārya in the Gita bhāṣya. There kūṭa is defined as māyā - as Swamijiji explained, māyā is the one whose ways are extremely sneaky, projecting something which isn’t real - with ṣṭha this meaning brings the sense of that onto which something unreal is projected. Pañcadaśīkāra’s use of the word kūṭastha is synonymous with cit, it is untouched despite being the adhiṣṭhāna, the locus, for all vyāvahārika, all the empirical reality or, as Swaminiji said, the beatings of saṁsāra. The mirror-reflected light, which is likened to cidābhāsa, appears brighter than that of the sunlight itself. Despite its appearance as brighter, the reflected light is completely dependent upon the sun for its light. Without the sun, there would

be no reflected light. Likewise, without kūṭastha, there would be no cidābhāsa.

Due to aviveka, lack of discrimination, between kūṭastha and cidābhāsa, one can miss the vision of Vedānta. If one is unable to distinguish between cidābhāsa and kūṭastha, one cannot resolve the mahāvākyas which give the vision of the Śruti. So, how is this viveka possible? First looking to the analogy, we see that the reflected light

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makes a brighter spot on the wall which begs the question, how does one know that the sunlight is also there? It might just be the reflected light, without sunlight. There are two ways for viveka. First one can look between the bright-reflected spots on the wall and see that sunlight is there. The other way is to turn the mirrors away leaving the sunlight that is there underneath, so to speak, visible. How does this look when applied to kūṭastha and cidābhāsa? One can witness the space between vṛttis, mental modifications, especially when one is doing japa. What if in between each mantra one observes only thoughts? The second form of viveka steps in - sleep. This is like turning the mirror away from the wall. During sleep, when there is an absence of vṛttis there is still self-existence. That self-existence is kūṭastha. How does one know this? One is capable of saying, I slept very well, despite there being no vṛttis during the sleep state itself.

Both kūṭastha and cidābhāsa have specific functions. Seeing the separate function of each, one is able to distinguish between the two. Swami Vidyāraṇya first differentiates between the functions of kūṭastha and cidābhāsa with regards to external objects. How is this done? One starts by seeing that there are two types of knowledge. The first is the knowledge which tells one whether this object is ‘known’ or ‘not known’. By way of an example Swami Vidyāraṇya uses the trusted clay pot. In Eugene, Swaminiji uses a clay flower-pot - if one has attended Vedānta classes elsewhere with Swaminiji, one may not be

aware of the flower-pot that Swaminiji uses in Eugene. In this case, while one may have knowledge of other pots that Swaminiji may use for teaching, the knowledge of the Eugene flower-pot might not be there.

Knowing that one has knowledge or not of the Eugene flower-pot is the function of kūṭastha. In fact, kūṭastha alone is the reason that one can say that any object is known or any unknown. What is the job of cidābhāsa? If one doesn’t know the flower-pot and one perceives the pot

through the indriyas, the vṛtti which arises with specific information about this pot - that is, it is small, pale clay colour, flower-pot shaped, etc. - is the function of cidābhāsa. When this is all put together, one sees that cidābhāsa is responsible for converting what is unknown - that is, the unknown-ness that is known by kūṭastha - into known - that is, the known-ness that is known by kūṭastha.

If the flower-pot in Eugene was to this point unknown, it has now been converted by cidābhāsa into a known object. The vṛtti which brought the information, has by now disappeared, leaving behind knowledge that you know you know the flower-pot that Swaminiji uses in Eugene. Any of the indriyas, sense organs, and most frequently a combination of them, can be responsible for providing the information for the vṛtti bearing the information that will convert unknown to known. For example, one may not know the smell of durian fruit (one cannot use the word fragrance with regard to durian fruit) pictured to the right. However, once the vṛtti, based on information from the olfactory sense organ, has arisen, that unknown-ness with regard to the smell, will most definitely be converted to known-ness - and never forgotten no matter how many years go past until one is next in the presence of durian!

Thus, whether something is known or unknown to me, it is categorized by cit alone. Cidābhāsa has no part in this. Instead, cidābhāsa’s role is to convert the object from unknown to known. The vṛtti having made the object known disappears. How do we know the vṛtti goes? Because one does not hear, see, etc., all the varieties of objects that one knows at the same time - thank goodness. What it would be like to smell durian fruit with everything that one comes across after it has become known is best left unsaid.

durian fruit

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Therefore, it due to cidābhāsa, giving specific information about objects, such as appearance, usefulness, etc., that one is able to transact at the vyāvahārika level.

The roles of kūṭastha and cidābhāsa being understood regarding external objects, how is this converted to the internal experience of emotions etc.? As one might expect based on what occurs externally, whenever there is a specific experience, cidābhāsa is there. For instance, if anger arises, the vṛtti lit by cidābhāsa is the one giving the information, revealing the experience of anger. The vṛtti bringing that information arises, and goes. It is important to recognize, that an emotion is a product of a vṛtti - therefore it is not lasting, it is momentary. The messenger vṛtti having brought the news that emotion is present has completed its job and disappears. Why then am I angry for a long period of time? You are not angry at all, let alone for a long period of time. Habitual orientation may give rise to many vṛttis one after the other delivering information regarding the presence of anger. As Swaminiji often tells us, when anger arises, write it out. While the main benefit may be a means by which one is able to exercise śama and dama when confronting the emotion, another advantage is that one sees that there is not one continuous thought! Most importantly, one has to assimilate that the error is not about how long anger lasts, but how one mistakes oneself to be the one who is angry in the first place. This kind of identification with what is perceived does not occur when objects are external - I see the pot, but I

do not think I am the pot. However, the mistaken identification of I with the body-mind-sense complex has been reinforced not only during this lifetime, but also in countless prior lifetimes.

A large portion of Chapter Eight contains a highly technical analysis of cidābhāsa in which Swami Vidyāraṇya explains how the jīva comes into being by distinguishing the subtle differences of opinion between three groups of logicians. Swaminiji pointed out that the details of these various opinions are not important so much as it is to follow the vicāra

so that one’s ability for viveka increases. A summary of five major points brought out follows.

First, one cannot say that jīva is merely the presence of kūṭastha in anything that is conditioned - such as the space in a pot. If this were the case, as Swaminiji with great humour pointed out, a pot by merely as though conditioning kūṭastha, might start expressing itself. What might it say? I am dissatisfied with my job, I am too small, fat, short etc. As for the predecessor of the pictured flower-pot - which retired due to multiple cracks - it would complain about the way in which it was picked up with no regard for its personal safety, and recount in great

detail how many times it had been dropped and glued back together; it might even start a support group for crack-pots! It would not stop with just the pot having jīvatvam, but would extend to every object. The room might decide to lock everyone out, and the cup could say that it was no longer going to carry tea or water for others - instead from now it was going to quench its own thirst alone. Thankfully, as we don’t observe this in the world, there must be something more than as though

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conditioning for kūṭastha such as a distinguishing factor that gives rise to the sentience seen in jīva, which is not seen in jada viṣayas, inert objects. That distinction is due to the nature of the medium in which kūṭastha is reflected. In the presence of antaḥkaraṇa, kūṭastha reflects more powerfully than in other more gross materials.

Having introduced the necessity for a specific medium, the antaḥkaraṇa, Swami Vidyāraṇya takes up the second point, how cidābhāsa has the ability to light up the antaḥkaraṇa thereby revealing vṛttis. Cidābhāsa, having ābhāsa, which is a partial resemblance to kūṭastha, has the ability to shine when in the presence of kūṭastha; in reality cidābhāsa is never away from kūṭastha. Having the ability to shine, cidābhāsa is therefore capable of lighting up the antaḥkaraṇa.

For the third point, Swami Vidyāraṇya cites the Śruti in support of the existence of cidābhāsa. Why is this important? If cidābhāsa were not there, then it is akin to saying that kūṭastha, without any intermediary, lights up antaḥkaraṇa. Why not say so? Śruti herself says, ātman enters the body, by which statement we know Śruti is not referring to kūṭastha/ātman itself entering the body - that which is all pervasive cannot enter itself! Further, it is stated that whatever enters the body, arises and goes with the body, or is born and dies with the body. Therefore, Śruti is not implying nitya kūṭastha, that is not subject to any kind of modification such as birth and death. Therefore, we understand that it is cidābhāsa shining in the borrowed light of kūṭastha which is responsible for illumining antaḥkaraṇa. This way there is no disparity; Śruti is a pramāṇa and as such does not contradict herself.

Fourthly there is a discussion regarding the resolution of the mahāvākyas, the equation between jīva and Īśvara, when both cidābhāsa and kūṭastha are understood. This is done by bādhaya sāmānādhikaraṇa, for which Swami Vidyāraṇya gives the example of a person who mistakenly takes a stationary man, the adhiṣṭhāna, locus of projection, to be the stump of a tree. What happens when the person realizes the mistake? The true identity of adhiṣṭhāna is recognized; the incorrect cognition, i.e.: this is a stump, is replaced by the correct cognition, i.e.: this is a man. Likewise, the erroneous cognitions, about

the mithyā ‘I’, the I that considers itself to be nothing more than the vṛttis, are replaced by the real ‘I’, kūṭastha. Indeed, it is only because kūṭastha is, that the all the vṛttis - I am sad, I am inadequate, I am tall, etc., - can be projected. The process of negating all these mistaken cognitions to reveal the adhiṣṭhāna, kūṭastha, that which upholds the projection, is called bādhaya sāmānādhikaraṇa.The fifth and final point, why is it that this seemingly real mithyā I, the I that experiences a wide range of emotions and events in life, can be called mithyā? The Śruti says that the status of being jīva, and Īśvara that is jīvatvam, and Īśvaratvam are a product of māyā.” Swaminiji beautifully describe how māyā is capable of stitching together the whole creation, including jīvatvam and Īśvaratvam. The possibility of this being so should not be difficult to accept when one looks at the creation of the jīva’s dreams. As Swami Vidyāraṇya said, if it is possible for the jīva to create both jīvatvam and Īśvaratvam in the dream state, why is it difficult to accept that the great śakti of māyā can create them in the waking state? Further, should the question arise that the power of māyā being such that she can create the entire jagat, then why not say that kūṭastha is also māyā’s product? There is no pramāṇa for this - nowhere does Śruti say that kūṭastha is a product of māyā. Concluding the chapter, there is a beautiful analogy. Māyā is likened to rainclouds which pour out the creation. Just as space is not touched by the rain pouring forth from the clouds, so too those who know the truth of kūṭastha are not affected by the as though creation of that greatest of seamstresses māyā. My humble praṇāms to Swaminiji, who never ceases to teach, tat tvam asi, to the student who asks.

COURTESY OF ADVAITA ACADEMY, WE ARE NOW LIVE ON THE WEB

Our new cyber classroom is located on the following link:www.livestream.com/advaita_SwaminiSvatmavidyanandaji

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Significant Verses in Bhagavad Gītā: Weekend Retreat in AtlantaBy V.N. Ramakrishnan

Swaminji’s Atlanta visit was keenly awaited by all the sādhakas in Atlanta and surrounding areas. Prior to the retreat, Swaminiji delivered a wonderful talk titled, “What is success?” based on a verse from the Bhagavad Gītā. The talk was held in Srimati Banu and Sri Raj’s residence where both children and adults enjoyed the talk thoroughly.

The ensuing weekend retreat was held at the Sai Temple in North Atlanta. Through the joint effort of our Atlanta study group members and their families, we were able to host a retreat that was attended by around 60 people. On both days all the attendees enjoyed a delicious lunch from the Temple kitchen and a nice potluck dinner. The retreat with Swaminiji’s classes held in a temple setting can only be described as the shower of Bhagavān and Guru’s grace that provided all attendees with a unique, complete and satisfying spiritual experience. Everyone was also able to witness the beautiful morning and evening ārati at the Sai Temple.

The retreat started with the chanting of the significant verses from the Bhagavad Gītā, from which Swaminiji unfolded six significant verses in her unique, engaging and lucid style. Starting with a verse in praise

of Bhagavad Gītā that says that if Gītā is studied properly, no other scriptural study is required. Swaminiji pointed out that although a tall claim, it is true when we look at Gītā in the following two ways: First, it is the song of the Lord that reveals the knowledge of the infinite as oneself. Second, it is a song for which the subject matter is Bhagavān.

Gītā was taught by Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra as the Mahabhārata war between the Pandavas and Kauravas was about to begin. Arjuna commands Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa to take him to the middle of the battlefield so that he can assess the strength of the enemy army. Bhagavān cleverly places the chariot in front of Bhīṣma, Droṇa and other elders whereupon Arjuna has a panic attack. This is followed by a depression the result of which was that he sat down in his chariot and refused to fight. The teaching of Bhagavad Gītā addresses the kind of depression that transformed Arjuna, an exalted person and enthusiastic warrior, into a sorrowful and confused person so quickly.

Sorrow has two forms. One is the acute kind that arises in situations that one is unable to confront, which is what we see in Arjuna on the battlefield. The second is a chronic kind that is always there and kept at bay somehow. The Gītā gives us a complete solution that deals with eradication of both kinds – the acute kind through a life style of karma yoga and the chronic kind through brahma vidyā.

Chronic sorrow afflicts every human being because unlike animals only humans have free will. A cow does not have a complex about the way it looks. However, the human is not happy with himself/herself and tries to constantly do something to get this happiness. This human non-self acceptance may seem like a curse but it is really a blessing because this is what drives the human to seek freedom from seeking to be something s/he is not.

Initially a human being is not a seeker of mokṣa but a seeker of others’ approval. This approval seeking is a natural desire that starts early in life. It is not a cultivated desire like cable TV, iPad etc., and therefore it does not go away. Instead it becomes a relentless distraction arising in

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every aspect of life – job, marriage etc. As long as I am bound in this seeking of self-approval the so-called free will is bound to undertakings, including mistaken and unhealthy relationships based on the thinking that I am not OK. The Bhagavad Gītā, tells us, that you are OK, you are already what you seek, you are the jagat karaṇaṁ paraṁ brahma. But how, one asks, can this be? I still feel sad.

Self-doubt arises from being told you are OK, when the feeling of sadness is still persisting. Questions arise such as, am I free or bound? Sad or happy? The Bhagavad Gītā says, I am already free, which is the real I? Is it the unknown ‘I’ that is free, limitless, happy, or the known ‘I’ that is full of pain and sorrow? There are three possible answers: (1) I am sad (2) I am free of sadness (3) I am little sad, a little happy. From our experience we know that sadness is not our nature because we do not celebrate sadness and hence (1) cannot be true. Since truth is something that is not changing as suggested by (3) this possibility also cannot be true. Only (2) can be the truth, as the Bhagavad Gītā says. Can we remain without addressing this self-doubt? No, because even though certain doubts are harmless, like whether to eat something or not, this self-doubt is very costly because it causes doubt about jīva, jagat and Īśvara.

There is also sādhana sādhya asaṁbandha – confusion about how to address this doubt, there has to be a connection between what one wants and the means to obtain it. To get to a particular destination one should not board the wrong plane and then wonder, why I am here? The job of Bhagavad Gītā and the guru who teaches the Gītā is to help us get off the wrong plane.

How do I get off the wrong plane, is it easy? Bhagavān says in the Chapter 7 of Bhagavad Gītā that it is not easy. However, even though it is not easy, gaining a human birth, manuṣyatvam, is more difficult, and as Ādī Śaṅkara says in Vivekacūḍāmani the other two M’s are even more rare – mumukṣutvam and mahāpuruṣa saṁśraya. Mumukṣutvam is the desire for freedom that as the study progresses is converted to a desire for knowledge. Mahāpuruṣa samśrayah is taking refuge in the

knowledge handled by a teacher who knows and who has learnt through tradition. Ādī Śaṅkara continues by saying that, from a spiritual perspective, if a human being does not make an effort to study the śāstra, it is like killing oneself. Therefore, even a little desire is enough and can develop into a conflagration through satsang and the grace of a teacher.

When one is ready to make the effort and listen, Bhagavad Gītā says that one needs to understand that the fundamental cause of sorrow is ignorance. Ignorance has two parts: A – not knowing the ātman, and, B – taking myself for what I am not. Part A is not really a problem but part B leads to infinite approval seeking and as a consequence, sorrow. Part A and B together conspire to give the human being chronic sadness that comes out in acute form whenever there are unexpected situations. The ignorance will not drop automatically. Continuous study and listening from a qualified teacher is required to remove the ignorance and deal with both kinds of sorrow. Even an exalted person like Arjuna needed 18 chapters to understand the teaching!

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In the Gītā, Bhagavān divides humans into two categories – those who are dead and those who are going to die. We have to be in line with Bhagavān’s view, not our own, in order to free ourselves from sorrow. Grieving for that which is gone or that which is yet to go is silly. Coming and going is the nature of the body-mind-sense complex and strong identification with this constantly changing body-mind-sense complex causes sorrow. One has to understand that the body-mind-sense complex is finite and that the body is not me. A vision adjustment is needed and the guru is the one to do that. As it says in the Guru Stotram, the guru is the one that removes the cataract of ignorance that blocks one’s vision.

Our whole life is about running toward or away from objects, people and situations due to rāga-dveṣas, likes-dislikes. The jīva, human being, is constantly busy resolving rāga-dveṣas, never asking what the chances are that the rāga-dveṣas can be completely fulfilled - the answer is, no chance. Therefore, these rāga-dveṣas have to be interrogated. By looking at when rāga-dveṣas are absent, such as in sleep, or when one is absorbed in certain activities like music, pūja etc., one sees that when they are absent I am the happiest. Why then have I empowered them to lead my life, when coming under their spell causes grief and sorrow? Bhagavān explicitly says, may one not come under the spell of rāga-dveṣas: tayor [rāgadveṣau] na vaśam āgacchet hyasya paripanthinau (Gita 3.34). A sad person has to realize the source of sadness is rāga-dveṣas and that

these have to be dislodged from the heart. How do we dislodge rāga-dveṣas from our heart?

Bhagavān talks about two committed life-styles, jñāna yoga and karma yoga. The word committed refers to those who have made the decision to be free from being a seeker. These committed people need to find a teacher and keep studying.

Some questions may arise in this context. Can the knowledge come directly from Bhagavān without studying, as it appears that some

people have done? Although it may appear that there are exceptions, these people would have studied in a previous life. How about following other paths, like bhakti yoga? In the Bhagavad Gītā, Bhagavān talks about only two types of yoga – karma and jñāna. Bhakti is not a separate yoga but is included in

both types of yoga, because this teaching is about the understanding of Bhagavān within. What about mokṣa through seva? Seva is karma.

Commitment to knowledge is not an option. How the knowledge is pursued is where the choice is. One is the drastic approach, a life-style whereby one cuts all worldly relationships for the exclusive pursuit of knowledge. This is like the mokṣa express that does not stop anywhere until it reaches its destination. The other life-style is to pursue knowledge while fulfilling other duties, which is more like the passenger trains in India that move at their own pace, stopping at every little opportunity. In the second approach the commitment to knowledge is there and the other pursuits also contribute to the goal of

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mokṣa by helping the mumukṣu mature. Marriage, family, children and jobs are all ways by which one can grow. One of the life-styles has to be chosen. One cannot be a fence-sitter for long. Depending on ones temperament, ones placement in life, predilection and readiness, one can choose a particular life-style.

Along with commitment, a clear understanding of reality is important for gaining the knowledge. There are three orders of reality. The first is sat, that which is unchanging, consciousness, truth – it has no dependence upon anything. If we say everything in the universe is sat, we have to explain how this is so. When we say, peach is, the is-ness is borrowed, as it were, from sat. Is, never goes away, only the object is transformed or absent. For example, the peach is, becomes, compost is, or, peach is not. Is is still there. This is-ness is sat, the self-revealing I.

The second level of reality, mithyā, answers the question, how does one contend with the manifestation that is the jagat, including people, animals, trees etc., and our likes and dislikes regarding these objects? If we understand mithyā the question of how to contend with it, does not arise. Mithyā is defined as that which is a dependent reality – it does not exist on its own. What does this mean? The jagat cannot categorically be said to be non-existent because it is experienced every day in the waking state. Nor can it be said to be that which is existent, because it is not available for experience during sleep. So what is the jagat? The answer is mithyā. The is-ness is satyam, which upholds the jagat, which is dependent upon satyam for its existence. Just like

a pot. Where is the pot when the clay is removed? The is-ness of pot is the clay – there is no independent pot. In the same way as the example of pot and clay, and really speaking, including clay, the is-ness of the entire jagat is sat. Remove all the names and forms, what remains? Is – which is no less than Īśvara.

The third order of reality is asat, that is that which is non-existent like horn of a rabbit or a square-circle. It is important to realize, however, that even when talking about asat, that “is-ness” is still there. Horn of rabbit is not, square-circle is not – there is nothing outside of sat.The mix up between sat and mithyā, i.e., taking mithyā as sat and sat as mithyā is costly. That I am, is known but, what I am, is not known properly. I don’t need anyone to tell me, I am, however, when I misidentify that I, by saying, I am mother, father, thin, fat, healthy, unhealthy etc., the cause of all misery and sorrow, which is identification with the body, comes in. The mix up has to be untangled by understanding Īśvara.

What does it mean to say everything is Īśvara? It means that every order, be it chemical, psychological, or physical, such as the anatomical order, is nothing but Īśvara; wherever there is a leg, it will walk whether it is the leg of a centipede or a human being. Every eye is the eye of Īśvara, whether it is on a crocodile, lion or cow. The natural laws, those that do not change like the law of gravity, are Īśvara. The scientists only discover laws that already exist. We say the world is not a creation but a manifestation of Īśvara. Everything is given in the universe, the human being is only discovering this

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manifestation and even the capability to discover is due to Īśvara’s grace only.

It may be easy to see the stars as Īśvara, but what about the person who punches our face making us see stars? We must understand that the law of karma is also Īśvara. With respect to action we have complete freedom but once set in motion it produces results in accordance with the law of karma that is also Īśvara. Results of karma are connected to how much the actions are in keeping with dharma. Not being seen in this lifetime, the phala is called adṛṣṭa phala, meaning it is invisible and is based on whether the karma was in keeping with dharma or not. We cannot blame Bhagavān for the results of our karma. This is our own karma done over many past lifetimes, which is the key to gracefully accepting the results of our actions. Although not easy, we need to extend an attitude of prasāda towards all events in life. What will help is to pray for grace to guide and assist us with upholding dharma in all situations. Swaminiji told us there are three types of dharma: sāmānya dharma - don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do unto you, like stealing, lying etc.; viśeṣa dharma, which is applicable at certain places or at certain times, and, svadharma, one’s own duties, playing one’s roles in life. All three are manifestations of Īśvara. The truth of dharma is beyond tradition, beyond religion, that has to be understood and preserved, as Pujya Swamiji so tirelessly teaches both in the classroom and the world.

The vision of the Bhagavad Gītā is that one is non-separate from the whole, therefore, free of all limitations. This knowledge lives within the body-mind-sense complex with a second mithyā, a subjective mithyā called prātibhāsika. Now we have two mithyās: the objective

mithyā, which is in the form of potholes, speed bumps and all kinds of obstacles, and prātibhāsika.

While the mithyā jagat, which is a benign projection of Īśvara, is incapable of causing sorrow, the human being’s subjective projection onto the jagat creates saṁsāra. How? Rāga-dveṣas towards what is. It is this subjective condition that alone I can change. The jagat cannot be changed. Thinking myself to be the karta, doer, I try to fix things in the jagat and the whole cycle of saṁsāra continues. This desire to

control external circumstances has to go. The only thing that I can alter is my attitude, my fears, and my response to situations. For a mumukṣu, there is no room for two mithyās. This wrong sense of doer and experiencer is the reason that I am subject to chronic sorrow, both of which are driven by rāga-dveṣas.

The jīva has to relate to Īśvara. This relationship enters in all areas of one’s life. How? By performing karma according to ones svadharma and desisting from doing what should not be done. Every action done correctly becomes a flower offered at the feet of Bhagavān. I don’t take ownership for the action, instead I dedicate it to the Lord and gladly accept the results of the action as prasād. Should we then accept everything passively? We don’t say, do not achieve goals, nor do we say, don’t change the things you can - acceptance is not retreat but a strategic response to a situation that cannot be

altered right then.

Karma yoga is often misinterpreted as work without pay, but this is not true because, as śāstra says, even a fool does not work without a purpose. What is the purpose of karma yoga? It uses action to purify the mind to cultivate the correct attitude towards the action. Like a dirty mirror needs to be cleaned to reflect clearly, so too, the mind needs to be ‘cleaned’ for the knowledge to take place. So, everything

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we do, study, marry, work etc., should be for the sake of assimilation of the vision of myself as the whole. For example, marriage is not an end in itself but a means for the viveka and vairāgya to grow. Kabir said to keep those who are hard on you near you for spiritual growth. Lots of difficulties means more Īśvara and more opportunity for spiritual growth. When we look at it this way we have already made the transition from subjective mithyā to objective mithyā SummaryThe teachings of the Bhagavad Gītā given by Swaminiji during the retreat can be summarized as follows:

1. Every action and every relationship is solely for spiritual growth.

2. All my actions are to be dedicated to that altar which is the source of everything, including myself, the actor.

3. Whatever results come, accept them gracefully. 4. Desires are bad only when they try to run our lives. 5. Through relationships reduce rāga-dveṣas – let the

other person win.

Two kinds of growth are encountered by human beings. The six-fold modifications - existence, birth, growth, transformation, decay and death; these happen automatically for humans and animals alike. However, it is human beings alone who can ask for the second kind of growth – spiritual growth, which is initiated by the erroneous belief that I am unacceptable as I am. I have to practice a life of giving and accommodating for which iṣṭa karma – such as pūja, meditation, japa - and pūrta karma – such as seva for others - will help prepare myself to know that self is acceptable.

As the retreat drew to a close, the Secretary and the priests of the Sai Temple honoured Swaminiji. Gurudakṣiṇa was offered, followed by prasād distributed by Swaminiji.

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A Report on Viṣṇu Sahasranāma Discourses in Washington DC

by Leela KrishnamurthyIt was a glorious week of study of Vedānta when Swaminiji visited us this past week in Washington DC. We had the opportunity to listen to Swaminiji stressing the importance of repeating Bhagavān’s name as in Śrī Viṣṇu Sahasranāma. We also delved into crucial verses of Bhagavad Gītā where Śrī Kṛṣṇa talks about the role of jīva in karma yoga. There was good attendance for all the classes and we had lively discussions after the class. Swaminiji’s clear and simple exposition of the subject matters left all of us spellbound. The thirst for furthering the knowledge and continuing the studies was expressed by several participants

Swaminiji began with the introduction to Viṣṇu Sahasranāma which is 1008 names of Bhagavān. In order to understand the importance and power of this sacred chant she started by telling us the simple analogy of the extraordinary benefits of chanting Bhagavān’s name versus repeating the name of the most beloved person in one’s life. The latter, as we are all well aware, is temporary and does not yield any benefit to the one who constantly repeats it. Bhagavān is limitless and nothing can be said to exaggerate or reduce his glory. All the

scriptures through the mahāvākyas emphasize the non-separate nature of Īśvara and the ‘I’. Then why does the jīva feel so insignificant? He comes into the world separated and hence insecure. This is due to ignorance, which is of two types: (1) Ignorance of the jagat, that is, ‘not-I’, and (2) Self-ignorance, that is ‘not knowing I’. The ‘not-I’ ignorance is dropped as one gains education and grows up. The latter, however, needs self-effort and the individual has to develop basic qualities and prepare oneself to receive the knowledge by śravanam, listening. Further, the knowledge has to be from an able teacher from an established and exalted lineage and who has a thorough understanding of the śāstra. The jīva’s perception on the other hand is to use his free will to follow several ‘not-I’ pursuits with the wrong belief that this will lead to success in one’s life. However, the jīva continues to feel wanting or lacking something in himself and suffers from self-hatred and self-recrimination. This wanting person suffering from ignorance of I, longs to be non-wanting, free and complete. The ignorance of I also has two parts: (1) I do not know who I am, vastu agrahaṇa, and (2) I take myself to be something else, vastu anyataḥ grahaṇa. The second type leads to the conclusion that I am wanting, lacking and not good enough. In sleep one is

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non-wanting, so the needy person is no longer there. Even though the jīva may not be aware of what she or he wants, and indeed most of the time is not aware of this, it is this non-wanting person, this oneness, that she or he longs to be in the waking state. If this yearning were for an object of experience, as the jīva mistakenly believes, then who would be I, the subject? Oneness by its very nature means that object cannot be different from the subject; it cannot be created, and it should include jīva. This oneness, this limitlessness is referred to as Bhagavān

Swaminiji continued to expound the glory of Bhagavān. Brahman is saccidānanda, and satyam-jñānam-anantam, existence, all pervasiveness; knowledge, consciousness; limitlessness. This is called the svarūpalakṣaṇa, which means that Brahman is the very meaning of these words - they are not attributes of Brahman. Since ‘I’ is not different from Īśvara the jīva also has the svarūpalakṣaṇa with some ‘as though’ differences which are bridged by knowledge of the self.

Another way that Bhagavān is identified is by using taṭasthalakṣaṇa, an indicator which comes and goes. The one who has given rise to the jagat and sustains it and unto whom the jagat resolves is like the father and mother of the universe. They are non separate from each other and the universe; intelligence is the masculine,while the creation is the feminine. These lakṣaṇas

are revealed in the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma verses. This conscious being who has created the jagat has as though become many while remaining whole and impartite, with complete knowledge. Nothing that is created is outside Bhagavān.

Swamini further explained the names of Bhagavān in Viṣṇu Sahasranạma. The many laws that are named by eminent scholars and

scientists in different fields of study are all none other than the manifestations of Bhagavān. They all fall under the heading of the order that is Īśvara. The laws of physics, geology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, sociology, astronomy, astrology, psychology, etc., are nothing but the manifestation of Bhagavān. Everywhere in the jagat one can see the invariability, infallibility and beauty of the various orders. One has to recognize that all forms in the universe are nothing but Bhagavān, that which has put together this intelligent universe - we can say, that which is infallible is Bhagavān.

That humans have free-will, is also order. Really speaking, free will is that which can only be exercised in prayer. Prayers fall into three forms- kāyika - ritual such as pūja; vācika or parāyaṇa - such as chanting Īśvara’s names; and mānasa - mental worship. The chanting of the 1008 names in Viṣṇu Sahasranāma, which falls under vācika, has the power to resolve duality and allay grief and sorrow in the jīva. The

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chanting focuses one’s relationship with Bhagavān and helps one to avoid distractions that take one away from the self.

Swaminiji went on two describe two other orders, dharma and karma. Dharma can be divided into three main groups. First it is the ability to follow the universal norms, sāmānya dharma. Then acting in an a manner appropriate to place, time culture and peculiarities of a group, viśeṣa dharma, and lastly, to perform one’s own actions commensurate with one’s age, standing, and role in life, svadharma. Wherever dharma is followed there is the presence of Bhagavān. When one transgresses dharma it leads to karma, which manifests in three ways: prārabdha karma, sañcita karma and āgama karma. Of course where there is karma there will be the results of karma - karma phala. These can be favorable, siddhi, and not so favorable, asiddhi. Although prārabdha karma is exhausted in one’s life, the storehouse of sañcita and āgama karmas is full, every karma waiting to fructify in a potentially endless cycle of births and deaths. Taking refuge in Bhagavān by invoking his name in prayers brings grace into one’s life. This serves as an antibody against the onslaught of the collected

karmas either by neutralizing or mitigating the intensity.

The word Bhagavān refers to bhaga, one with sixfold virtues, with the suffix, va(n), meaning the one who has. The sixfold virtues are described as aiśvarya, meaning, overlordship; vīrya, the ability to create, sustain, and take back the jagat; jñāna, limitless knowledge; śrī, total resources; vairāgya, total objectivity and impartiality; and lastly bala, which indicates almighty power and all pervasiveness. All these virtues are in totality in Bhagavān while being extremely limited in the jīva.

The 1008 names of Bhagavān recited in Viṣṇu Sahasranāma fall into three

categories (1) svarūpalakṣaṇa, (2) taṭasthalakṣaṇa, as the mother/father of the universe and by the various orders that are seen, and (3) avatāras, names particular to the deity evoked.

On the last two days of the week long program in DC, Swaminiji started to unfold the ślokas themselves. We see the sacred text that is authored by Veda Vyāsa begin with a narration by Vaiśampāyana who introduces the circumstances for the dialogue between Yudhiṣṭhira and the great sage Bhīṣma. Yudhiṣṭhira, in the throes of uncertainty after the

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war at Kurukṣetra, approaches Bhīṣma who is awaiting his own death on a bed of arrows. He asks Bhīṣma for the one thing which is self-effulgent and self-shining, that is revealed in a chant, that when followed along with verbal praise, ritual and mental worship, will restore his connection to the limitless. Bhīṣma’s reply starts with the description and greatness and glory of Bhagavān in the 1008 names of Viṣṇu Sahasranāma.

During Swaminiji’s week in DC, she also gave discourses on the Bhagavad Gītā, Chapter Two. In this Chapter Lord Kṛṣṇa talks about karma and karma yoga. With reference to karma the individual has the freewill and right to do action. However, Lord Kṛṣṇa categorically says that at no time does the individual have any say over the result of such actions. One cannot control the outcome of ones action. He goes further to say that greeting the comfortable and not so comfortable outcomes with equanimity, is the right way to act. We look forward to continuing this Chapter in our next session with Swaminiji.

The Commitment of the Student: Reflections of a Eugene Student

By Rama GiriEach year, “Stone Soup”, the nationally-syndicated comic strip by Eugene, Oregon artist Jan Eliot, celebrates one week with the theme, “Ya gotta love August”. We students of Swamini Svatmavidyanandaji Saraswati in Eugene agree. Our summer 2012 of Vedānta classes culminated in an unexpected August Vedānta intensive, a major

yajña, as well as seva beyond my comprehension.

As the summer schedule began, the classroom was relocated to the Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti Shrine, where, whether the curtains were open for the Lord’s darśan or not, we were hearing the teaching in the presence of Swaminiji, that Sat Guru who is the manifestation of the paraṁpara which began at the south-facing feet of Lord Śiva.

Earlier in the summer, the Eugene satsang gladly included several new mumukṣus,whose desire for knowledge was so great that even after the highly technical nature of the text to be studied for the month was pointed out, they continued to come for several classes. It seems that for most of us when we start on this journey obstacles arise in many forms and we humbly come to recognize how it is the grace of the teacher, Īśvara and the teaching that carry one along this path to knowledge. I am certain that Swaminiji’s ability to unfold this holiest of teachings with the compassion, humour and clarity that she does, will continue to bless all of us who have the grace it takes to come to a teacher such as herself.

The Eugene August, which I likened to Anaikatti, included having Julie, our dear gurubahen, here for one month. Julie is about two-thirds through the three-years that she has been blessed to study at the Anaikatti Gurukulam. Indeed, the originally-unplanned extra classes of August resulted from Julie’s dedication to the teaching and her asking for more. I often look to Julie as a model for relating to the Guru.

The particular grace that flowed over me was the

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seva opportunity to chauffeur Guruji. To do so was a thirty-year long desire; although in Saylorsburg, at the first opportunity to do this driver seva, I missed a turn, causing a twenty-minute delay in arriving back at the Gurukulam. In Eugene, I picked up Swaminiji at her kuṭir, drove to the classroom, and returned to the kuṭir. This amounted to some 14-16 minutes (round trip) per class, two to three classes a day, eighteen classes a week. (The Sanskrit students

attended still more classes).

During these drive times, I was modeling the life of the kṛpaṇa, the “stingy one” defined by Sage Yājñavalkya as a person who departs this world without expending even a few brain cells in pursuit of self-knowledge. Each week, I had nearly five hours in the car alone with Swaminiji and I was content to be silent. When the thought of Gargi’s question arose in me, I spoke with Swaminiji about this. There were some other questions. Most questions resolved in my realizing that I was misunderstanding ‘that which’ caused the question to arise. But I still want to know, how do I know that I know?

I did have one question that can be delved deeper into in answering. We are students of Vedānta. As we know, Vedānta is the end of the Vedas. In the vision, the Vedic tradition, prior to getting the knowledge, certain behaviors are enjoined. I asked how much of the karmakaṇḍa we Westerners needed to follow, such as fire yajña? I

suppose I was asking how much “church” is needed for the knowledge. It is rather like the questions that arose as Gentiles became followers of the teachings of Jesus.

In answering the question, Swaminiji said we all needed to live our lives in 3-D -- that is, a life of devotion, discipline, and duty. Swaminiji has often spoken of the need to settle accounts with Īśvara. This is devotion, shrine pūja, daily surrender to Īśvara, a life of karma yoga, and bhakti. To me, her words spoke specifically to cultivating our devotion to the teaching that is the only pramāṇa for the knowledge. Devotion to pramāṇa is devotion to the teacher alone. The teacher knows how to guide the raft of knowledge that ferries us beyond the sea of saṁsara, delivering us to the shore of our selves. To the teacher alone, as the wielder of the śāstra pramāṇa, is our devotion dedicated.

Discipline - or did Guruji say dedication? - we may all understand to include the familiar prerequisites of śama, dama, titikṣa, etc.; again, I found myself thinking that Swaminiji meant more. Was she saying that our dedication to and devotion for the teaching has to be our commitment? We need to take all opportunities to expose ourselves to the teaching, to actually sit at the feet of the ācāryā and receive the maximum grace through the words. If so, a daily prayer for all mumukṣus and jijñāsus is that all the obstacles that may prevent us from doing this be resolved - quickly!

Duty/dharma is seemingly obvious. We know the importance of following dharma in its many forms: universal, situational and personal. We have oft-enough been told that adherence to dharma, like śama, dama, etc., is necessary to receive the knowledge. In addition to

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this general duty to follow dharma, that Swaminiji was speaking of, what spoke to me was the particular svadharma that manifests for the śiṣya in the situation of being with the teacher: our duties toward the maintenance of the teacher, the classroom, and the teaching. Was a hitherto unspeakable, undefined subconscious fear making its presence known in the thoughts that were arising - the fear of losing the opportunity to study in person, on a regular basis with my teacher?

Perhaps, Julie being in Eugene brought up my desire to have an āśram here. This reflected another long held desire - to study with a teacher full-time. To me an āśram is both a place for the fast-track exhaustion of one’s karma, and a structure/form for the maintenance of the classroom, the place of the teaching and most importantly for the support of the satsang, the community of students receiving the teaching. An āśram gives the śiṣya a close-up chance to do seva for the guru and the gurukulam - an excellent means by which rāga-dveṣas can be neutralized. I saw in myself the desire to be a śiṣya in a gurukulam, who is in the classroom, ready and receptive at the first OM.

During the busy class days of August 2012, we had a very special yajña at

the Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti Shrine. At 5:00 am Sunday morning, August 19th, the aṣṭabandha pūja of Lord Dakṣiṇāmūrti began. The seva of so many supported this important ritual wherein the Lord was permanently affixed to a pedestal in the inner sanctum. This represents the anchoring and channeling of the Lord’s grace to this place on this earth. Was this the Lord’s grace working overtime for all the Eugene area mumukṣus and jijñāsus alike, giving us something to hold onto during this journey often fraught with unconscious fears and desires that have the power to derail our quest? One cannot, as Swaminiji often quotes Pujya Swamiji as saying, by-pass Īśvara when it comes to this knowledge. Without Īśvara there is no knowledge.

I pray that the clarity for this śiṣya continues to grow and that the 3-D life of devotion, duty and discipline, expands into greater dedication, desire, daring, and dashing to live the life of a karma yogi, serving our beloved teacher, Swaminiji, so that the knowledge continues to freely flow to all her students.

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Swaminiji's Visit to Our Pūrṇa Vidyā Classby Saila Tangirala

Om Srī Mātre NamaḥIt was a blessed day for the Pūrṇa Vidyā class of Germantown, MD, when Swaminiji accepted our invitation to visit the class. In the class, there are 36 students in the 8 to 14 years group. They have been attending Pūrṇa Vidyā for six years. There are also 14 students in the 4 to 8 years group class. These are the siblings of the older children who started a new group last year. On Sunday October 21, 2012 – on the seventh day of Sharada Navarātrī season, Pūjya Swaminiji shared an evening at the class answering questions from children, youth and their parents.Parents received Swamijini with a Pūrṇakumbham. All the class children chanted the mantrapuṣpam, which they learnt in the summer session. The kids lined up on the steps to welcome Swaminiji. Once everyone was settled in the class room, everyone chanted the Vedic chant for Ganapati in one resounding tone. The children then sang Ganeṣa bhajan - Pārvathi Nandana and Devi Bhajan - Prathama BhāratīNāma. Ishan, a new kid, led the class in singing Syamale Mīnakṣi bhajan. Given that this was not a performance and we did not rehearse it as a presentation - it was a joy to see the kids do well with the bhajans and ślokas that were taught so far, in this session which started on September 9, 2012.Swaminiji started with a question answer session and Sri Dutta opened the floor by asking what is the definition of success. Slowly other children gathered the courage to ask the questions that linger in their minds. It was the first time many of the little children actually volunteered to speak up and ask for the mike. There were lot of questions on Mahiṣāsura, which showed some children do read the stories at home. Being the navarātri season, the ślokas and the stories taught are all pertaining to Devī Māhātyam. Ritvik asked a question

“Who can be a guru and what are the obstacles that one has to cross become a guru?” In response to his question, Swaminiji taught them a mantra that defines the guru:

gukāraḥ tu-andhakāraḥ vai rukāraḥ tan[tad]-nivarttakah, andhakāra-nirodhitvāt, guruh iti abhidhīyate.

The syllable "gu" stands for ignorance, and the syllable "ru" for the remover of ignorance. Because the teacher removes ignorance, specifically, the ignorance of one’s self, the teacher is known as the guru.Swaminiji also discussed the six enemies that reside within us – kāma, desire; krodha, anger; lobha, greed, mada, arrogance/pride; moha, delusion; and, mātsarya, jealousy - explaining the buffalo nature of Mahiṣāsura. She spoke about the animals seen with the devatās and their significance to our daily life and our body. Mūṣika is our mind and

Ganeṣa being heavy weight is able to keep it under control, preventing it from wandering around restlessly. So offer a prayer to Ganeṣa before starting the studies. Similarly tiger represents our anger and one who can over power and channel that would be Durgā. The children even got to hear an English rhyme on what happens if the tiger overpowers the rider.

After the children, it was the parents' turn to spend some time asking questions,When Swaminiji came up to have dinner, the

parents chanted Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad Gītā. Everyone sat around Swaminiji and the children began to sing. It was like a Gaṇa Amṛutha Abhiṣekam with classical music singing by Sadhana, Srujan, Anjali, Satvik and Gautam. Swaminiji had her bhikṣa, listening to Shive Pahimam, Cheti Bhavannikhila, Hima Giri Thanaye, Parvatha Raja Kumari and Gananam Tvā.It was a very special Navarātrī for us and will be cherished for a long time. Thanks to all our Raga Sudha, Pūrṇa Vidyā parents support. Everyone came in spite of their busy schedules, stayed to listen and helped make it extremely memorable.

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Pūrṇa Vidyā Class,Germantown, MD

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Satsang with SwaminijiWhat happens to the sūkṣma śarīra of a jñāni at the time of fall of the body? What are the vibrations that one experiences when around a jñāni?

The Taittirīya Upaniṣad says "na tasya pranāḥ utkranamanti." The subtle body of be jnani does not travel. Upon the fall of the body of a jñāni, the gross body, the sthula śarīra, joins the five gross elements, pañcabhūtas, and the sukṣma śarīra, the subtle body joins the five subtle elements. The subtle body consists of subtle elements that have given rise to to five prānas, sense organs, organs of action, mind, buddhi, ignorance, kāma, desire, and karma, action. The jñāni has no self-ignorance. Therefore, the desire for contentment, and the consequent seeking for fulfillment and self-acceptance that is there in the jīva is absent in the jñāni, who has fulfilled the purpose of the human birth. The chain of self-ignorance, desire for self-acceptance, and dead-end pursuits, leading to repeated births has been broken for the jñāni.

The so-called "vibrations" attributed to the jñāni are nothing other than one's own glory, which the jñāni effortlessly embodies and reflects. In the presence of the jñāni, the oneness, that is the truth of self is perhaps more easily sensed in the jñānis presence. The Vivekacūḍāmaṇi says that the jñānis are like the spring season in people’s lives. Like the spring, coming after a harsh winter, the jñānis also go about fully blossomed in their nature, blessing all those who think themselves to be caught in the relentless grip of saṁsāra, with the fragrance and color of self-knowledge. Like the spring, the jñāni does not desire anything in return, and therefore, if one is ready to hear the truth of oneself, one can relax and let go of fear and stress in the presence of a jñāni.

Swamini’s Teaching and

Travel Schedule

All classes are Pacific TimesThe class schedule is subject to change. Please check with www.arshavm.org for the latest offerings.Classes marked with an asterisk are simultaneously streamed live at the following links:http://www.livestream.com/advaita_SwaminiSvatmavidyanandaji andhttps://avmtemple.adobeconnect.com/_a725965367/gita/

*Vedantadindiamah: 9:30-12:00 Nov 3rd and Dec 1stGenerally meets on the first Saturday of each month at the Trauma Healing Center, 2222 Coburg Rd. Please confirm the location with harinderkhalsa@gmail.com

*Kathopaniṣad: Every Wednesday 6-7 pm

*Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad: Every Friday 6-7 pm

*Vivekacūḍāmani: Every Friday 7-8 pm

Beginning Sanskrit with Harinder Khalsa every Wednesday from 7:15-8:15 pm

Sūktā Editorial BoardJulie Carpenter, Mayaskari Rothbart, Kanchan Deshpande and Harinder Kaur Khalsa.