Class Summary for Nov 14, 2021 - Kailvalya Upanishad - Slokas 13& 14

 Summarized by: Shailesh Vyas

Started with meditation, anulom vilom.

Initial Q&A 

• Prayanam with fasting is easier compared to a full stomach.
• Question - Why do we use chin mudra for meditation?
1. Any mudra is used to lock the energy. This way energy gets looped and circulates back into the body.
2. Gyan Mudra - Thumb represents Paramatma and Index finger represents Jivatma. Rest of my fingers are indriyas.

Recap

• Karma yoga and Bhakti yoga paths are all valid paths and will get you to a certain point. Gyan yoga is the final and ultimate step to get one out of the cycle of births and deaths.
• Like two pieces of wood when subject to friction produces fire, similarly by churning our minds (pseudo self with higher self) we can produce fire (of knowledge and wisdom).
• Why was the analogy of fire given ..
• Fire represents light (and the way it removes darkness), similarly fire in this reference can remove ignorance.
• Second, fire burns anything it touches, so in this reference this fire of wisdom can burn vasanas and bondage.
• Article on Vanaprastha Ashram (approx age of 50). We need to let go of things and focus on what is important. Four takeaways -
• Quit the rat race and find something more fulfilling, less stressful and more at your term and pace.
• Service - Find a way to serve society
• Worship (Jap) or focus on the higher cause.
• Identify your key relationship and take time to connect with them.
• Story - Guru dips disciple heads into water to show how strong dedication you need.

Shloka 13 

Translation -

In the dream state, the Jiva experiences both pleasure and pain. Maya creates by its own illusory power a world of imagination for the Jiva (to enjoy).

In the state of profound deep sleep everything merges into its cause.

The Jiva is overpowered by Tamas, and comes to exist in its form of bliss.

The awakened body is enjoying all pleasure.

In a dream state even though you are in a dormant state our mind and intellect are still not completely shut down (Maya creates an illusory world).

In deep sleep, you are in bliss. 

Shloka 14

Translation -

Again, following from endless previous births, due to the karmic reactions gathered in them,

that very same Jiva goes (back and forth) between the dream and the waking states.

In these three cities (states), merrily sports the same (helpless) individual soul.

That from whom verily have sprung up all the diverse varieties of experiences;

That is the support or substratum the indivisible bliss-consciousness.

Into that alone dissolve all the three cities (states) once again.

Theme 

• The same Jiva in the dream state experiences joys and sorrows from its own projected world. e.g. I can have the president clean my dishes.
• This is experienced through the sukshma sharira. All the materialistic identities are in un-manifest or seed form in this state.
• In a deep sleep state, the gross and subtle body are dissolved, and there is NO-THING state. We become conscious of the absence of things. THis is a state of non-apprehension.
• Everyday we wake up from deep sleep due to our vasanas.
• We keep cycling between the 3 fields of experience - wake, dreamer and deep sleeper.
• Like we play the three roles - husband, boss and friend, the common factor is Consciousness = Me.

Discussion

• Movie Dashavatara is a good example where all 10 roles were played by the same actor.
• Mind and Intellect becomes projection.
• You kill somebody in your dream and in the morning you may wonder I never thought I could be such a person.
• In a deep sleep state, the gross and subtle body are dissolved, and there is NO-THING state. We become conscious of the absence of things. This is a state of non-apprehension.
• Does this mean one has to sleep all the time?
• Recognizing/Awareness/Realization of the true wisdom, and how you operate in all three states is the anandam state.
• Newton law of inertia - Material in a particular state remains in that state, Unless an external force is applied to it. 
• If I am in anandam state, why am I waking up .. Even though the temporary vasana package was dissolved, it's not gone .. Everybody is going to wake up as the vasana package is calling for it.
• In daily life we keep going through this cycle of sleep, dreaming and waking up state.
• The More time you have spent on sleeping, you still feel tired either due to dreams, or you couldn’t sleep. More time you spend on deep sleep you feel fresh (as if you were in anandam state).
• Study on sleep has contradiction with the above statement.
• You get good sleep when REM is also good. Studies were conducted where folks did deep sleep but not enough sleep were still tired.
• Vedanta is trying to say that there is one entity that is taking you to all three states. That who is witness to all three states is the truth.
• Question - We are somewhere in control in the waking state and lose control of the body in the dream state and "lose" both mind and body in a deep sleep state. How can we experience sustained joy when the mind itself is not available to experience?
• Real you is beyond experiencer and experience.
• There is no experience 
• Question - Are you not experiencing anything in deep sleep?
• It's almost like you are dead.
• When a mosquito bites you in a dream .. if you are not completely dissolved you will move but at some point you are completely asleep and will not even realize. 
• Reflected Consciousness is mentioned in Atma Bodha.
• Whatever is in the dream is the reflection of atama.
• Question - Is deep sleep a state when we are closer to Brahman?
• Deep sleep is just an example here
• e.g. Let's say someone has an important day next day .. you often don’t sleep or check the clock throughout the night .. This is Vasana playing over all three states.
• Samadhi is also closer to dissolving in Brahman.
• Let's say Mirror, water and colored ink reflect the Sun differently, it's ultimately the same sun. If the sun goes away it's gone for all three.
• Entire dream state is created by a dreamer .. When I wake up all of that is dissolved, is it possible for me to realize its dream. If you are going through a bad dream, the only way out is waking up.
• Similarly this world is also a projection, and the only solution is removing ignorance. As soon as you realize, things around you don't affect you.
• Mandukya Upanishad - As per Mandukya Upanishad, both dream and waking state are considered same.

Ended class with Meditation and Summary of class.

Class Summary for Oct 31, 2021 - Kailvalya Upanishad - Slokas 11 & 12

  Summarized by: Neelima Turaga

We started the class with opening prayers, pranayama and meditation.

There was a brief discussion about the right way to do pranayama. It is important to avoid a heavy meal right before the session and to ensure there is sufficient gap so that the pranayama can be performed more effectively. 

As part of the recap of the previous class, we discussed how Gyana yoga is the only way to attain moksha. Karma yoga will help you cleanse and accumulate positive balance to get to Brahma loka, where he gives you the knowledge of Brahman. Similarly Bhakti yoga path can get you to Vaikuntha.  Karma and bhakti can be alternate paths to get to a certain point, but gyana yoga is the final and ultimate step to get out of the cycle of births and deaths.  

A person following the path of Karma yoga or Bhakti yoga needs to have the right intent and be without any expectations, in order to progress in the right direction. Whatever path is chosen, they ultimately converge to the path of gyana. The ultimate, which is the Brahman, can only be accomplished with gnana yoga.

In Kaliyuga, Nama sankeertana is the minimum a person can do to cleanse oneself and progress on the spiritual journey.

We then discussed the article about Vanaprastha in the current times. It talks about the emptiness that a person faces at some point in his/her life. The article advises that before this happens, one should take the following steps.

-Quit the high stress, rat race kind of a job before the professional decline happens. Find something more fulfilling, less stressful and more at your terms and pace.

- Find a way to serve the society

- Worship or focus on the higher cause that you had never found time for, earlier.

- Identify your key relationships and take time out to connect with them.

In any profession, peak is reached at a certain stage in life, and then, professional decline begins. We do not know how to let go at that point as we are too engrossed in our pursuit of material things. Our Hindu philosophy tells us that we have to at some point withdraw from the grihastha ashrama and go into Vanaprastha ashram, and retire to the forest. This particular article we discussed, talks about Vanaprastha ashram and gives practical advice for the present times.

We then chanted Shlokas 11 and 12 and discussed the translation and meaning of the verses.

Translation :

The ego is the lower arani and Om is the upper arani. When self knowledge is repeatedly churned  through constant practice, a wise man burns up all cords of his bondage.

The self or jiva, deluded by the maya alone identifies with the body and does all actions. Objects like food, wine, women etc by the enjoyment of which is possible only in the waking state the jiva strives to gain utter satisfaction.

The comparison given here is that two pieces of wood when subject to friction produce fire. Similarly, when our pseudo self is able to churn with the higher self, the fire of knowledge is created by which the ignorance is removed and we are free from all bondages. 

Without this fire, the jiva or the pseudo self is deluded by maya. In the waking state we can only identify with our bmi and think everything connected to the bmi is real and hence enjoying all the material things. Whereas, in the deep sleep state,  none of this is important and there is no identification with this bmi. That is the time we can identify with the Brahman. 

Every upanishad uses some metaphors to describe the Brahman. These metaphors have to be interpreted carefully. In one of the upanishads, the Brahman is compared to a spider. A spider  is able to create the web from itself, just as the Brahman creates this universe from within.  Just because this comparison is made, one cannot also compare with the eight leggedness of the spider. This becomes totally irrelevant and out of context.

In this Shloka, the metaphor used is that of Fire. When there is darkness, that which is hidden from us cannot be seen. When a fire is lit, there is light and  we get to see what was covered by darkness earlier.

For example if we walk into a room in pitch darkness, nothing can be seen. None of the objects in the room are visible. The moment light comes on, everything is visible. We can now see all the objects present there. Does it mean the objects did not exist when it was dark ? No. The objects were always there. We just could not see them. The same concept is applicable to Brahman as well. Brahman is always within us. But due to the darkness of ignorance, we are unable to see it. When the appropriate light shines and the darkness is dispelled, we will be able to see or realize the Brahman within us. 

The second reason for giving fire as a metaphor is that fire burns anything that it touches. In this case, it is ignorance. Just like the friction between two aranis (pieces of wood) fire is produced. When the pseudo self is churned with the higher - shastras, scriptures, or OM,  the fire of knowledge will be produced, which will burn the vasanas and bondages. 

The atma, when it is impure or deluded, becomes jivatma. When the ignorance is removed it becomes the purest form of atma. In the waking state it enjoys all materialistic things. It is important to constantly remind oneself to balance it out and not get completely engrossed in such material enjoyments. It is important to keep it limited to what is required and nothing more.

Another analogy is that the bottom arani is the mind and the upper arani is the higher, could be shastras or scriptures. The bottom part has to be steady and the upper part is rotated.  That implies that the mind has to be held steady while the shastras are put inside and churned. This can be accomplished with the guidance of a Guru. 

The spark ignited with such churning has to be carefully nurtured to turn it into a steady flame, otherwise it can die out very soon. This can be done only with proper sadhana, including meditation and constant contemplation,

We ended the class with closing prayers.