Chapter 6, 7 Harmony of Existence, Personality Rehabilitation

Today we started our class with Gurustotram and 5 minutes of meditation.

After the meditation, everyone shared their experiences. Some said they had thoughts coming in but they tried to bring their attention back to meditation, while others said they could hear someone talking , someone opening the door etc. Some people said they could hear the sounds of distraction but were trying to visualize god’s picture and were trying to meditate.

Later on Meena ji suggested few things about meditation 1) If a person has more rajas, they should try doing japa. Chanting of mantras and counting of beads will help them focus and concentrate their mind. 2)If we have thoughts during meditation we need to observe them like a witness or 'sakshi'   instead of curbing them. Later, we must analyze and introspect to see where these thoughts are coming from.

We did a quick recap of our previous chapters and discussed in greater detail the concept of the dual path of Shreyas and Preyas since we have to face these choices in every decision.

On this discussion Meena ji gave us a acronym  

SMILE which if helps us when we take any decisions. In this S for Shreyas 

M is happiness to maximum people, I is the decision that is taken with a clear and sharp Intellect,  rather than being swayed by emotions.

L is thinking about the decision whether it will be right in the long term and E am I evolving towards my ultimate goal.

Later, we progressed with our 6 th chapter and discussed that the experiencer is constructed of 4 different personalities one is physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual and of it spiritual is the highest and as we aim high the needs of all other lower personalities will be negated.

In  Chapter 7, Personality Rehabilitation we discuss that a man contacts the world with his body, mind, intellect and consciousness. Of these, the body and consciousness are almost same in every person so the only variable factor in man is mind and intellect.On this note we discussed an example about a CEO giving the option to their employees if they could take a salary cut or would prefer losing their jobs. We saw another example of the four personality layers with the bachelor, married couple and parents and how the lower personality needs are satisfied when we are operating at the higher level.
We stopped after paragraph 4 of chapter 7. Next week Swamiji will be coming and we will attend his pravachan. Hari Om!

Contributed by YM

Chapter 4-6 BV Class on Nov 10, 2019

Chapter 4-6

Man is motivated by two impulses, revulsion to sorrow and craving for joy. We often blieve that joy comes from objects or materialistic acquisitons.  However, happiness depends on the state of man's mind. If the mind is agitated, then sorrow is felt; if it is tranquil then there is joy. 

Modern man's "unintelligent denial of sense enjoyment" causes mental suppression that leads to frustration.  Because of this frustration, many object and abhor religion and its practices. It's important to convince our minds of "why" we do what we do for us to practice and sustain the practices and beliefs of any religion.  Not understanding some of the religious practices and beliefs leads some to make choices that are detrimental to his success and prosperity.  

There are 2 paths of life: Sreyas (path of good) and Preyas (path of pleasant).

Sreyas vs preyas example: child asks for sweets from lady selling it on the street; mother explains that we don't know the ingredients in that sweet and it has dust on it so shouldn't eat it.  If he waits until tomorrow she will make it at home.  The human mind tends to resist the path of good (sreyas) but it is this path that leads to greater happiness and sense of fulfillment in the long run.  Determination is key to staying on this path.  Path of pleasant (preyas) provides instant pleasure but often leads to disappointment and sorrow in the long run.

4 Purusarthas (aims of human life) of hinduism: dharma (righteousness, moral values), artha (prosperity, economic value), kama (pleasure, love, psychological values) and moksha (liberation, spiritual values).

Life is defined as a series of continuous experiences. Our experiences determine whether our life is happy vs miserable.

Man being the experiencer, has 4 layers of personality: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. Each layer has its own values and works in tandem with each other (either all 4 or combination of few) in evaluating a situation and making decisions.  When we make decisions, if any of these layers are not satisfied, this causes friction in our personality.  This friction arises from a series of experiences and ultimately causes the stress and strain in our lives, popularly called samsara.  

There are however ways to create a desired and healthy integration of all 4 layers of our personality so that we can enjoy harmony in our varied experiences of life.  The scriptures suggest and show us the path and practices towards this integrated, happier and healthier life but it is we, our "determination and concerted" efforts that can help us achieve it.  

Contributed by RS
(Needs Edits)

Chapter 2,3,4 . Nov. 1, 2019

We started the class with chanting Vedic shanti mantra "Om Sahana Vavatu" and then the entire Guru Stotram. Then, we took turns reading the Kindle Life book – chapters 2, 3 and 4.
We summarized the earlier session on chapter 1 and understood the meaning and difference between the terms “Freedom”, “License” and “Licentiousness”.
Freedom is the ability or power to act or speak. However, there is a major difference between freedom without any restrictions and freedom with the foundation of rules and regulations.
License is the permission/freedom to act as long as you follow the rules. E.g. the license to drive a vehicle as long as you follow the traffic rules. Similarly, following the rules/discipline will allow us to appreciate/enjoy life - just like we can enjoy the freedom to drive (safely) once we meet the requirements to get a driving license. Such a freedom will be truly meaningful.
Licentiousness or unrestrained freedom might sound good, but such callousness actually leads to misery and failure.
2. ART OF RIGHT CONTACT
This chapter builds further on true freedom. Any set of rules such as the constitution and our scriptures help us develop the right contact with the world – therefore meaningful freedom.
We use electricity in our everyday life, but we must respect it and follow the rules of electricity so we can establish the “right contact”. Otherwise, the same power can wreak havoc.
Any obstacles in our path are crucial like the sandpaper to polish our personality. Life situations or objects are not hurdles or problems by themselves – it is the different perspectives to a situation or object that makes them appear as positive or negative. E.g. the rasgulla (indian sweet) may give one person immense joy, but might be unpleasant to another. The object (rasgulla) is the same for both people, but their reaction is what differs.
The path to achieve peace and happiness within oneself is by developing thankfulness towards Brahman and overcoming the desire for material objects.

3. MAN’S HERITAGE
In this modern world, we are running after material desires/pleasures that we feel will make us happy. However, these material objects are an obstacle to real happiness. When we achieve them, the so-called joy is short-lived. We realize it doesn’t give us sustained happiness/peace.
A person who can restrain himself from such worldly objects reach the calmness/peace is like the lighthouse in the ocean of samsara. We can look up to such people when steering our life in the right direction. In our journey to happiness and calm, the religious texts act like a mariner's compass for guidance.
Once a person reaches the independence from the worldly objects, she/he is neither too happy when a garland is offered or perturbed if a crow sits on the head. That doesn’t mean the person is emotionless – they have sentiments, but aren’t sentimental. The difference is:
Having emotions/sympathy for a person in trouble, but holding one’s composure and maybe help them
Versus bursting out in tears seeing the other person, but that doesn’t serve any purpose.
To live our convictions to the fullest, it helps if we can introspect and take the right steps. If we need a Guru, the Lord will make sure we have one at the right time.

4. THE JOY OF LIVING
This chapter progresses on the concept of craving for worldly sense objects:
“…striking contradiction between a millionaire sitting and mourning in his palatial apartments and an ill-clad peasant, roaring in ecstatic joy…”
This reiterates that the worldly objects are not the medium providing the joy. The paradox proves the truth of life – acquiring a lot of wealth (or other material pleasures) doesn’t give a person happiness.
Meaningful and long-lasting happiness comes from when we attain calmness within oneself. Such a person can be a guide to others seeking the path to happiness.


Through today’s conversation, we also realized that it will help to introduce this idea of happiness to our children. Instead of keeping our focus on achieving success/acquiring money, true happiness is being able to steer away from material objects. The session also touched upon the CHYKs who realized the path to independence from worldly desires and wanted to join the Chinmaya Mission as Brahmachari/Brahmacharinis (sevaks) and their samskaras (positive impressions/traits).

Contributed by JS