Summarized by: Vidya Shivkumar
We started the class with our usual prayers, meditation and pranayama. We then reviewed what we did in the prior class.
From the summary we then touched upon what is Sakshi bhava (Witness Attitude) ?
That state of being where we just observe things and events without getting affected by them or
their outcomes.
The 2 areas we generally stress about :
1. Why Me and Not Him – I am expected to do something which I think I should not be doing . The
thought we should have to counter it is “Why Not Me”. I am just an instrument to do HIS Task.
2. Why Him and Not Me – Both of us are instruments of God and; the Lord chose him to for that
work. You are identying yourself with your Ego (I)– pseudo self . Don’t identify yourself with
your BMI , you need to go beyond that . Eg : The imperfections of my reflections in a mirror
cannot be my imperfections , but can only be because of the distortions in the mirror.
We then discussed various examples as case studies and; discussed how to apply what we learnt
1. Travel during this Covid times is being stressful .
Solution Discussed :When we apply the sakshibhava and then treat yourself and others as an
instrument of God. This leads to realization that everything is planned by God (sarvam Stanam-
everything is exactly where God planned it to be) . The mind will then drop its anxiety and start
thinking rationally.
2. We examined scenarios where the responsibility of a person was transferred in volunteering. A
person is good at doing his allocated task, but when asked to do some other work the following
thoughts appear “Why Me and Not Him ” .I was so good at doing this work then why are they
asking me to move on to another task. We also get selfconscious “was I not doing a good job”
Solution Discussed :
a. Once we realize both of us are instruments of the Lord , then its OK if the Lord wants to
express via the other instrument . And there is something HE has planned /instore with this
move. E.g. Lord Rama cheerfully accepted vanvas when asked to abdicate the throne.
b. If you treat all work with the same efficiency then all tasks are equal. Do the best of your
ability. Eg : Lord Krishna was also asked to arrange the shoes where HE did a wonderful job.
c. Once we recognize that this is HIS desire we move from the Fear of missing out (FOMO) to
Joy of missing out (JOMO) .
3. The same scenario may happen at work too. When someone takes over the job from you , you
start thinking “Am I doing the job badly”? Is the other person better than me?
Solution Discussed : This entire issue is that of disidentification. You start identifying yourselves
with the BMI. It’s a trap the mind falls into.
a. Initially when we excel in our work we feel that only we can do the work. This causes us to
feel separate from our colleagues.
b. We need to examine what about the move we are not fine with. We need to then try taking
the analysis at a higher level. Discuss with the boss and colleague if it is for greater good of
the company and all involved
c. The boss still has final say and if we do not agree we always have the freedom of choice to
remain with the company or to leave.
d. And if we fear leaving then we need to figure what exactly are we attached to ?
4. We visited an example of a visiting Chinmaya Swamiji who observed that the bathrooms were
not well maintained. He decided to clean it by himself with the same passion that he gave the
spiritual discourses. We tend to qualify things and tend to give attention as per that
qualification. The great ones treat every task as Equal.
e. If we examine deeply the issue is our attachment. We should not go with expectation
f. Merits and Demerits belong to the Ego and never to the Atman
5. Sage Vyasa and Shukha – Sage vyasa sent his son Shukha to Janak maharaj . On the way to Mithila
he watched the wonders of the market, the town and finally he reached to the palace . When
Janak Maharaj asked him what did you see on your way to the palace ? Shukha replied he saw
lots of sugar candy , different colors . He saw sweetness in everything . Janak replied there was
nothing he had to learn from him as Shukha already saw Oneness in All.
6. Sugreeva ask Lord Rama towards to the end , when You are so powerful and could have killed
Ravana without effort then why did He need an army. Rama replied it was an opportunity he
provided the army to fight for a higher cause.
7. How big is Bramhan and make the problem insignificant? Eg How do you drink salt water . When
more fresh water is added to the salt water , the saltiness keeps reducing. And eventually you
can drink the water. Similarly when we seek the larger (infinite ) Bramhan then all our current
problems become insignificant.
8. Examples on Alertness :
9. When you are good cricket player , you just jump and catch the ball , you don’t think about the
rules and play. Rules automatically come to you. It is the practice that make you look perfect.
10. A person who is not alert only reacts . When one is only reactive he is not proactive . His
reaction is driven by emotions which never makes for a very effective response.
11. Spiritual progress made in this life is never lost and is continued in the next life as per Lord
Krishna. To give an analogy this is similar to engineering exams, where you are allowed to keep
terms that you have failed but move to the next level ( ATKT )
12. We then discussed a frequently asked question How was he before and after he became
Mahatma. The answer is there was not much of a difference as change is internal and not
external.
13. We discussed the Golden chain. Sometimes we get too attached to our daily sadhana activities.
And this is counter productive. What is the point in getting attached to Bhagvad Gita but not
practicing it .
14. “Sadhana” is the only way to cleanse you of the ignorance and take you out of the bondage. It is
not a one time thing, but a continuous effort.
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