Summarized by: Shailesh Vyas
Started with meditation, anulom vilom.
Recap
- In the first six verses we talked about Yogi and Sanyasi, they are not the people who want to run away from their duties.
- Renunciation of Sankalpa
- We should not have any desire when we want to be sanyasi.
- By attaching to higher ideas. We are capable and full. Glass half empty or half full, look at the brighter side.
- How can you use BMI to evolve higher? Same BMI could be our enemy if we don’t utilize it properly.
- Example of Japan v/s Africa, where even if Japan is not rich with resources it rose itself to superpower.
- The Mind can be your best friend or your enemy.
- Spiritual knowledge is something you can gain by yourself.
- e.g. Mountain climbing, the coach can only encourage, one has to carry himself to the top.
- Man should uplift himself by himself.
Theme -
Chapter 6 - Verse 1-6 - Yogi to Gnani
- Bahiranga Sadhanas - General preparation to be practised daily for successful meditation.
- Many kinds of meditation - for Sindhis, chakra, health, self improvement (yoga Nidra), mystical experiences, ESP BG itself has two kinds -
- Shravanam leading to Mananam
- Nidhidhyasanam
- Extolling the Karma Yogi as a Sanyasi v/s Niragni
- Patanjali Ashtanga Yoga - first two steps are Yama (don’ts) and Niyama (do’s) are Karma Yoga
- Karma yogi is the real meditator because s/he is a Sanyasi - mentally renounced worry at a moment’s notice.
- Process is gradual - withdrawal from responsibilities and focus on self enquiry.
- Detachment is a sign of (spiritual) maturity. Careful: does not mean uncaring, unloving person!
- Verse 5-6: very strong argument in favor of free-will. Atma is the BMI complex (not Jivatama or Paramatma).
- PORT reduction (Possessions, Obligations - aka responsibilities, relationships and transactions) another definition of the process of becoming a Sanyasi.
- Three factors needed to progress on spiritual journey -
- 1. Belief in free will
- 2. Self confidence
- 3. Self Integration
Discussion
- Lot of people do Tapas for repenting or acquisition of something.
- People divert their energy to get something.
- This chapter is about Dhyana Yoga.
- Dhyana is not about hardship ..
- You are working on realization.
- Types of Meditations (meant Tapas in this context to acquire something)
- Yogi Paramananda book - Autobiography of Sanyasi
- One of the examples from his life - One time he touched the train ticket and was able to produce it when asked, even though he never bought it.
- Asura also had Siddhis, but they used it to gain powers.
- Kundalini Yoga
- Chakra meditation - Seven or Nine chakras
- Self Improvement
- Yoga Nidra - Someone can introduce a different program into you. It's a kind of meditation.
- Mystical experiences - It can work for some and can go in the opposite for others. It can off-balance you.
- You can use meditation .. you can learn to see the future.
- Almost each of them is materialistic in nature.
- Getting knowledge itself is a kind of Meditation we talked about in the first five chapters. Examples like -
- Attending class
- Making notes
- Posting these notes.
- Second aspect is Nidhidhyasam. That's what we will read in Chapter 6.
- Nirangni -
- Every household used to have agni that will never be extinguished. Even a person who died will use the same household fire to burn their body.
- Nirangni is the person who has given up that fire, he will not cook on his own, he will beg to meet his end needs.
- Karma Yogi performs his action with detachment, you perform the action as they happen. You have to be unattached.
- We perform a lot of actions with emotions, in turn attachment.
- True Karma Yogi is the real Sanyasi.
- Both Arjuna and Krishna are Grihsta, even Vyasa was Grihista.
- Ashtanga Yoga is very close to what we are learning right now
- Eight steps
- First 2 are like 10 commandments of Hinduism (5 do’s and 5 don’ts) like do not steal etc.
- If you follow those you are closer to becoming Karma Yogi.
- Karma Yogi is a real meditator.
- Process to become Karma Yogi -
- You're not uncaring, un-emotional ..
- Transition from what to So what is usually fast.
- Smaller disturbances - What used to take days to recover now takes minutes.
- Bigger ones like loss of family etc are still longer.
- Free will
- Without your free will you will not be able to progress in spiritual journey.
- Three blessings you need
- Ishvara’s blessing,
- Guru’s blessing and
- Shashtra’s blessing
- However, most important is your free will. God can only help, if you help yourself.
- Self Confidence - We think, we can or cannot do this
- Self Integration
- PORT reduction is similar to FIR
- Reduce your Possessions like Homes, Car
- More possession you have, it will take your focus away from spiritual journey.
- Reduce your obligations (responsibility)
- Pass it on to next generation
- Reduce Relationships
- It comes with obligations like events in their life (birthdays).
- This reduces the number of transactions.
- Everyone has a different time in life .. this is to keep in the mind.
- Question -
- PORT reduction v/s Karma Yoga?
- With Karma Yoga, we learned to live in the worldly order but renounce the desires and fruits of your actions? In initial chapters Karma Yoga is considered higher. In fact it was referenced many times that you do not need to take Sanyasa. However with PORT reduction, are we advising otherwise?
- There are different ashrams in life. At some point, we are advised to reduce transactions. This helps us focus our time and energy on higher causes.
- Can we prioritize something over other instead of reduction? Like Sunday class priority over friends' parties.
- Prioritization can only work if you have few things .. it doesn’t work if you have a lot of things. You need to reduce.
- To successfully meditate one has to reduce the number of transactional activities in mind.
- Ashtanga Yoga
- First step is only about physical fitness .. the remaining seven are way beyond physical fitness.
- By the end you can depart this body as you want.
- Meditation helps you to focus.
Video
- Video 113 - Fragrance of Sweat
- Results of action -
- Thinking, Will I be complemented?
- All actions are in the present, thinking, agitated or being anxious about unnecessary worry about the future, I am wasting my time.
- Not worrying about results you enjoy your action, it brings excellence out of you.
- He is the Sanyasi, He is the Karma Yogi who renunciate fruits of action.
- Lord loves the fragrance of sweat rather than perfume.
- Video
- Rider v/s Ride.
- To tame a horse you throw your body on top, but once you are on top, you can tame it.
Ended class with Meditation.
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