Yoga Wisdom with Acharya das

There is a saying that “The eyes are the window to the soul”. This alludes to the reality that there is a clear distinction between the physical body and “you” the eternal spiritual being.

The ancient yogic teachings rejects the idea that “I have a soul” in favor of the truth that “I am the soul.” As such I have an eternal and spiritual nature, but when residing within a material form (the body) that nature becomes both covered and distorted. In this talk we examine that nature.

Some of the verses I either quoted or referenced:

O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness. Bhagavad-gītā 13.34

For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain. Bhagavad-gītā 2.20

The soul within the body is self-luminous and is distinct from the visible gross body and invisible subtle body. It remains as the fixed basis of changing bodily existence, just as the ethereal sky is the unchanging background of material transformation. Therefore the soul is endless and without material comparison. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 12.5.8

One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8

The ātma/self is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the ātma is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited. - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.9

As long as a living entity is not completely self-realized -- as long as one is not independent of the misconception of identifying with one’s body, which is nothing but a reflection of the original body and senses -- one cannot be relieved of the conception of duality, which is epitomized by the duality between man and woman. Thus there is every chance that one will fall down because one’s intelligence is bewildered. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 7.12.10

As tiny sparks fly from a fire, so all the individual souls have come from the Supreme. - Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 2.2.20

This is the truth: As sparks of similar form spring forth by the thousands from a strongly blazing fire, so from the Absolute Truth are produced the various living beings, O gentle one, and there also do they go. - Mundaka Upanishad 2:1:1

By chance, two birds have made a nest together in the same tree. The two birds are friends and are of a similar nature. One of them, however, is eating the fruits of the tree, whereas the other, who does not eat the fruits, is in a superior position due to His potency.

The bird who does not eat the fruits of the tree is the Supreme Soul, who by His omniscience perfectly understands His own position and that of the conditioned living entity, represented by the eating bird. That living entity, on the other hand, does not understand himself or the Lord. He is covered by ignorance and is thus called eternally conditioned, whereas the Personality of Godhead, being full of perfect knowledge, is eternally liberated. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.6-7

The same jīva is eternal and is for eternity and without a beginning joined to the Supreme Lord by the tie of an eternal kinship. He is transcendental spiritual potency. - Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.21

Thus mistaking the temporary for the eternal, my body for my self, and sources of misery for sources of happiness, I have tried to take pleasure in material dualities. Covered in this way by ignorance, I could not recognize You as the real object of my love. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 10.40.25

I was asked to speak on the real purpose of yoga and meditation in Melbourne, Australia, and address some common misconceptions.

Many people simply see yoga as a form of physical exercise that has wonderful health benefits, and meditation as something to deal with stress and increase peacefulness. But this ancient system was for something infinitely more rewarding and extraordinary – self-realization and God-realization – which when experienced, blesses one with great blissful joy, profound wisdom and the experience of perfect spiritual love.

When considering this topic there is a need to define both “Success” and “Meaningful.”

We mostly don’t think very deeply about the important things in our lives. For instance, we can mistake “desirable” for “favorable.” Just because we desire something it does not mean it is going to end up being favorable. Look at the reality of many relationships and marriages. They were all desirable at one point but half of them end up in failure and are even labeled as bad marriages or relationships and therefore unfavorable in hindsight.

We take a deeper look at what really constitutes “successful” and “meaningful.”

This is the second part of a talk at the Black Spark Cultural Center in Melbourne, Australia. It is all questions and answers and some Kirtan at the end.

This is a talk at the Black Spark Cultural Center in Melbourne, Australia.

I feel that a lot of attention is being put on what I would describe as the symptoms of climate change, but few people are focused on the underlying root cause.

We don’t want to do that because it makes us too uncomfortable. We refuse to embrace the reality that consumerism (driven by greed and envy) which is rooted in our spiritual emptiness, is to blame. We don’t want to accept it because that would really challenge us to consider what we collectively hold to be the goal of life. Only a spiritual perspective will empower us to embrace the fundamental changes needed to how we all live.

Some of the quotes I used in the talk:

“I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.” - Gus Speth – American environmental lawyer and advocate, former dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme

"We must shift America from a needs, to a desires culture, people must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs." - Paul Mazur, Director - Lehman Brothers

The last century saw “the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.” - Adam Curtis, BBC documentarian and writer.

EF Schumacher (Economist, Author) speaking of a proposal from perhaps the most influential economist of the last century, Lord Keynes, that prosperity, delivered by economic growth, brings all good. And the great engine to deliver economic growth was to cultivate greed and envy in people.

Keynes – “the day might not be all that far off when everybody would be rich. We shall then, he said, “once more value ends above means and prefer the good to the useful”.

“But beware!” he continued. “The time for all this is not yet. For at least another hundred years we must pretend to ourselves and to every one that fair is foul and foul is fair; for foul is useful and fair is not. Avarice and usury and precaution must be our gods for a little longer still. For only they can lead us out of the tunnel of economic necessity into daylight.”

“The modem economy is propelled by a frenzy of greed and indulges in an orgy of envy, and these are not accidental features but the very causes of its expansionist success. The question is whether such causes can be effective for long or whether they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction.” - EF Schumacher

“If human vices such as greed and envy are systematically cultivated, the inevitable result is nothing less than a collapse of intelligence. A man driven by greed or envy loses the power of seeing things as they really are, of seeing things in their roundness and wholeness, and his very successes become failures. If whole societies become infected by these vices, they may indeed achieve astonishing things but they become increasingly incapable of solving the most elementary problems of everyday existence.” - EF Schumacher

The business model of big social media companies "is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed. That's just the fundamentals of how it works." - Tristan Harris, Big Tech critic.

“They have literally rewired our brains so that we are detached from reality and immersed in tribalism.” – Tim Kendall, former director

We enter relationships with expectations, often without discussing “my” expectations with a partner in a relationship, and without learning what their expectations are. We also don’t honestly evaluate our expectations and whether they are realistic.

When our expectations of a partner are not being met or fulfilled, we commonly seek to control or manipulate them or “the relationship” to produce an outcome I think is desirable. This will always put me in conflict with the other person.

We tend to live in a very “self”- centre world. I tend to see others as being part of, or in relation to, “my” world. Everyone and everything is often perceived in relation to “my” likes and dislikes. This is not a formula for success.

Spiritual growth means an expanding concern for others and more thoughts of giving rather than taking. But this requires a shift in perspective, one where we see our relationship partners as fellow pilgrims on a journey towards our highest good – which is something more important than just each other.

A couple of yoga texts I shared:

He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self, sees the true equality of all beings, both in their happiness and distress, O Arjuna! Bhagavad-gītā 6.32

The Supreme Soul is very satisfied with the transcendentalist when he greets other people with tolerance, mercy, friendship and equality. Bhāgavata Purāṇa 4.11.13

People, both atheists and “believers,” hold a variety of concepts of God, or a higher transcendent truth or reality, which they either accept or, in the case of atheists, reject.

If asked, “Is There a Concept of God in Yoga?” we would need to understand what the person means by God?

Within Yoga or the sacred texts known as the Vedas, the understanding of God, is vast and extraordinarily complete understanding.

There was also an appreciation of the fact that God can be experienced differently by different people. He is said to “reward” seekers according to the nature of their “surrender”.

In the quest to find God, there was the recognition of the limitations of the mind and the severely limited external sense organs. It was recognized that spiritual reality is beyond the range of experimental knowledge. There is a Sanskrit word adhokṣaja which means "that which is beyond the measurement of our senses."

The Vedas taught that despite the limitations of the body and mind, God is discoverable, but it requires a major change or purification of our consciousness. Arguments made on the “can you show me God” statement were considered ill-conceived and even childish.

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa famously elucidates that the Absolute Truth or Godhead is experienced in three features, as;

Brahman – brahmajyoti – the impersonal ocean of white light

Paramātmā – the Supreme Soul who permeates all of material creation and sits within the hearts of all living beings. The personal feature of God.

Bhagavān – the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is the highest object of love.

The texts I quoted in this talk.

As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā. Bhagavad-gītā 4.11

The atma/self is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (3.1.9)

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is Śyāmasundara, Kṛṣṇa Himself with inconceivable innumerable attributes, whom the pure devotees see in their heart of hearts with the eye of devotion tinged with the salve of love. - Brahma-saṁhitā 5.38

Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1.2.11

Īśvara (God) is a special Puruṣa, unlike other puruṣas, untouched by afflictions, actions (material activity) and the fruit of actions, and latent impressions or material desires. - Yoga-sūtra 1.24

Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes. – Śrī Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1

Many of us share the experience of setting out, in different ways, hoping to “create” happiness. We may stimulate our mind and senses with different experiences which can produce pleasurable feelings, but these experiences are neither lasting nor fulfilling. In fact, they can eventually lead to a feeling of emptiness and even depression. Why? This is addressed in this talk.

To find real happiness it requires us to begin an inward journey of self-discovery, to discover our true spiritual identity and spiritual nature. This will entail living a more careful and thoughtful life of purpose. Happiness is not accidental. It is the product of purpose-driven actions that deliver a wonderful spiritual experience that truly satisfies the soul.

A couple of ancient texts I shared:

A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires. Bhagavad-gītā 2.70

One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krsna consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace? Bhagavad-gītā 2.66

In general, most people think of the ego as the way we view ourselves and our relationships with others. A dictionary definition is: “Someone's ego is their sense of their own worth. For example, if someone has a large ego, they think they are very important and valuable. He had a massive ego; never would he admit he was wrong.” Understanding the Yogic/Vedic perspective of the ego can lead to clarity on how to have a better and happier life.

The foundation to understanding “ego” is to understand consciousness and that it does not, and cannot, arise from matter. Consciousness emanates from a spiritual energy, the energy known by its characteristic – life. Consciousness is the inherent quality of the ‘soul’ or the ātma/self.

The ancient Vedic teachings describe how the embodied ‘soul’ is covered by two bodies and ‘lends’ consciousness to these two bodies. The first is the gross physical body (sthūla-śarīra), which we readily see or perceive, and the other is the subtle body (liṇga-śarīra). This subtle body/covering of the soul is comprised of three ‘layers’, the mind (manaḥ), the intelligence (buddhi), and the false ego (ahaṅkāra) or false sense of self. When I identify as the labels attached to the body (male, female, tall, short, race, etc.,) I am oblivious of my true spiritual identity and have adopted a ‘false self’ as me.

Spiritual enlightenment means to discover my true and eternal spiritual identity beyond these temporary and changing material identities.

The verses I quoted in this talk:

The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air (prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna and udāna), is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited. - Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.9

The pure and transcendental consciousness of the atma (self) is unchangeable. When the mind receives the reflection of that consciousness it is able to perceive and appears like the seer. Yoga-sūtra 4.22

The mind, being able to perceive due to its reflecting both the atma (self) and objects of perception, appears to comprehend everything. – Yoga-sūtra 4.23

Even though the mind has accumulated various impressions (and desires) of various types it is always at the disposal of the atma (self). This is because the mind cannot function without the power of the perceiver. – Yoga-sūtra 4.24

When the soul is under the spell of material nature and false ego, identifying one’s body as the self, the person becomes absorbed in material activities, and by the influence of false ego one thinks that they are the proprietor of everything. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 3.27.2

One who is enlightened in self-realization, although living within the material body, sees himself as transcendental to the body, just as one who has arisen from a dream gives up identification with the dream body. A foolish person, however, although not identical with his material body but transcendental to it, thinks himself to be situated in the body, just as one who is dreaming sees himself as situated in an imaginary body. – Bhāgavata Purāṇa 11.11.8

The time in which we live is described in the Vedas as the “age of chaos, quarrel and confusion.” We experience this in so many competing political ideas/beliefs, social philosophies, value systems, and ideas of morally proper behavior.

There are competing propositions on how to arrange the external components/components of our lives to produce harmony and peace. The common denominator for most of the proposed solutions is a false assumption - the idea that my body IS “ME”, when in fact I am a spiritual being occupying and using this body and mind. My body is not “me” it is “mine”. Therefore, trying to make my body or mind happy is not the same as "me" experiencing happiness.

Temperance (delayed gratification), is a foundation for a happier and more peaceful life, but I also need spiritual nutrition.

In the talk, I mention the need to develop a personal and daily meditation practice. These are the links to learning and practicing mantra meditation and some guided meditations to follow.

https://soundcloud.com/acharyadas/sets/meditations-for-wellbeing

https://acharyadas.com/kirtan-meditation/meditation/

https://acharyadas.com/kirtan-meditation/kirtan/

Some quotes I used.

The last century was “the rise of an idea that has come to dominate our society. It is the belief that satisfaction of individual feelings and desires is our highest priority.” - Adam Curtis, BBC documentarian and writer.

The business model of big social media companies "is to create a society that is addicted, outraged, polarized, performative and disinformed. That's just the fundamentals of how it works." - Tristan Harris, Big Tech critic.

"One who is not connected with the Supreme Soul can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” - Bhagavad-gītā 2.66

A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the person who strives to satisfy such desires. Bhagavad-gītā 2.70