School of Ancient Wisdom

Vedanta Retreat notes

DESIREà DECIDEàDESIGNàDESERVE

One way to keep brain activated is through learning new languages

Most believe we need to have some dramatic cause underlying behind dramatic effect. This is NOT TRUE

Mind and Intellect – does not have a form only function – just like software

MIND	INTELLECT
Feelings	Thinks
Emotions	Discriminates
Impulses	Judges
Likes and Dislikes	Reasons
Desires	Analyses
Indecisive	Decides
Sporadic thoughts	Deliberate thoughts
Pattern Making	Pattern breaking
Operates with known	Probes with unknown
Compulsive Thinking	Conscious thinking

Indiscriminate flow of thoughts= MIND

Discriminated flow of thoughts= INTELLECT

Vedanta preaches to produce the effect and cause will be followed.

Example: be happy –cause for happiness will follow

Ignorance of things make them look mystical.

Learn to live life by thinking alone

Living – desires and values

Desires – primary ( present in everyone ) and secondary ( depend on situation- stimulus based)

Desires by nature are always conflicting in nature.

Primary Desires

For Bodily comfort

For a Sense of security

To be Noticed and admired

Feel that one matters to somebody

To feel superior

For companionship and fellow feeling

To be like others of ones own “Set”

To be attractive

To look after and protect

To find out- discover- gratify curiosity

We always have dilemma between Good Vs Good and Bad Vs Bad

If one has Inferiority complex it is expressed as superiority

But this is not always the case and hence complex

Example

We usually associate with some charity… all acts of charity have root to feeling of superiority

EGO- cannot be seen by self mostly

Cause……….à………… Effect

We must put in efforts for Effects-----à--------Cause  cycle .  We don’t do this usually.

“Way to get anything is to lose it”

Always when planning a course of action –consider desire. When you are executing your plan keep aside desire.

Never bring in desires while performing action

Scriptures at 3 levels:

1.       Shruti- pure truths declared

2.       Smriti- explanation of the truths…. Influenced by time and place

3.       Puranas- telling stories to convey the message. Problem is usually the message gets lost in the story

Areas emotions influence:

-Selective perception

-choices

-language

- first reaction

Apply intellect when deciding on something but introduce emotion just before conclusion. Ex. Just like desert positioning in a full course meal.  This needs to be there to maintain humanity in decisions taken.

At level of perception don’t bring in emotions.

If a person is using more adjectives in speech he is using more emotions than intellect.

Emotions by itself are not a problem --- the manner in which they are expressed is the real culprit

Emotions coming out of DESIRE are always negative.

Expression cannot be classified as right or wrong  but appropriate or inappropriate

Don’t lose temper- use your temper

Any emotion stemming out of GRATITUDE is a positive Emotion

Keeping GRATITUDE as base, a feeling directed towards equal/lower object or being is LOVE

Feeling directed towards higher object or being is DEVOTION.

Synthesis of Thinking and Feeling only in positive emotion.

Positive emotion--- stems from—alertness—stems from—GRATITUDE—stems from—reading of scriptures(VALUES)

Knowledge does not help in living—we live life by wisdom

Sanyasi –one who has moved away from cursing and blessing

How to improve one’s intellect:

1.       Introspection/ Listen to live master/ reading ( less preferred as does not bring in conviction)

2.       Retrospection

3.       Meditation ( last 10% associated to this)

Look at existing intellect available. ( introspection)

Simple exercise to start with : Before hitting bed run through the days activities

Do not while performing this activity:

-          Do not analyze your action

-          At no point move backward and forward . Go serially only from first to last activity of the day

-          Should not take more than 5 min

Practice at least for a month to see the effect

Path of spiritual growth –

1.       Monkey way – take complete responsibility

2.       Kitten way- don’t do anything

Till a certain level we need to be monkey type and then we switch to kitten type

Relationships

-only exists at thought level

3 most difficult statements in the world for people to say:

1.       I Love You

2.       I am Sorry

3.       I need Help

At one point of time we can manage at max 7 relationships on day to day basis.

Rational sufferance – most tough to do-

Go through the suffering of other person thinking one day other person will grow

Communication:

-          Don’t use many adjectives

-          Watch the tone

-          Use plain, direct and simple statements

LOVE	ATTACHMENT
Universal	Preferential
Unconditional	Conditional
Thankful for taking	Tallying accounts
Self sufficiency	Dependency
Freedom	Binding
Peaceful	Agitated
Evolve	Devolve
Things gain personality	Person becomes things
Irreplaceable	Replaceable
No Polarization	Swing to opposites

LOVE + SELFISHNESS= ATTACHMENT

ATTACHMENT- SELFISHNESS=LOVE

  

Foundation of Harmony:

-          Have a common goal

-          Respect others independence

-          Identification not attachment

-          Communication

-          Be suggestive not compelling

-          Familiar not vulgar

-          Rights vs Duties

-          Rational Sufferance

 Relationship Snags

-          Justified expectations

-          Want unconditional acceptance

-          Mind reading

-          Refuse and resist change

-          Law of distance

-          Want to change the other

-          Intentions justify actions

LADDER OF FALL

Indiscriminate thinking

 

Attachment

 

Desires

Fulfilled                                                              Unfulfilled

|                                                              |

|                                                              |

Fear, envy, greed, arrogance                                  Anger

Delusions

Loss of memory

Intellect Lost

Burger Forks !!

Clouds

captured on flight from Delhi to Bangalore. Clouds looked amazing...

Steve Jobs

heard sad news of Steve Jobs passing away. I wasn't a fan of Jobs but for some reason I feel bad about such great person passing away so soon. He could have brought a lot more revolutions in design and technology. Do what you love is one of his feedback to other fellow beings..... yet to figure that out for myself.

Muddiness

this text I wrote (on a notepad) on my way back from office to home today on bus.... this city (Bangalore) is doing strange things to me... today i had an urge to write....for a moment i thought it wont come out good as thoughts are staggered but then decide to write just what is going on in mind...

--The more I read on Vedas the less I am becoming inclined to follow the religious rituals and religion too.Given up not eating non veg on every Thursday of week.It didn't sound right for some reason though I have been following it religiously for years. Practicing religion is to be set by someone or each of us can choose their own path? Through reading and videos I agree on the fact that what we cannot define/know we try to associate that to GOD. Journey of Life-- I have tried to dwell on this topic for past several weeks :listening to lectures by Vedanta gurus, listening to lectures by Sadhguru, going through the excellent documentaries of BBC on Mohammad (Islam), Atheism and The Incredible Human Journey. The concept of GOD is as old as we are on this planet and over the years we have made lot of scientific progress to put a logical reason to things that happen around us. This has reduced the scope of what GOD can do but still leaves a vast area where he is the reason behind. I find myself more of a fence sitter debating which side to take ( believe in GOD or not).
I had always got a  liking for astrology - mystery part of it made it exciting to read but then lately  I have stopped believing in it altogether. Earlier also inclination wasn't that great but I liked reading on it. Now since the new awakening through Vedanta reading I feel drawn more and more away from it. It is interesting to see myself  how much influence readings have on ones outlook and  beliefs in life. The recent visit to a temple left me wondering if capitalism and commercialization has taken away the meaning of the activity what the place was meant to be. Right from the entrance to the exit path place was filled with shops selling items more directed towards the woman segment as they happen to be more regular on such places. Maybe it is required to sustain and maintain the upkeep of temple but I doubt that. How much can be associated to that? Do temple have accounts which need to be published? their might be an outrage I guess if this is asked for? ...this leads to other thought of temple is a safe means of investing the black money and then reaping rewards on same? but how?? and what's the purpose. Looking from business angle it is the easier to do in order to attract crowd and hence prospects of getting more share of their spend. FAITH is very strong force and many people pay loads of sum to temple but will fight on with financially poor person (Maid/Gardner/ Gatekeeper/Garbage cleaner) if they ask for more money for their work which may be reasonable as well most of the times.
In my view most of us have ended up taking religion as it was already practiced by the family we were born in. Even though we study science in school applying it to religion is still thought to be not correct. Likely as it shakes the long held belief /FAITH. I also find it hard at times to convince myself why I am doing something in religious context? Does it makes any meaning? Why all over world different religions have certain strict norms to follow and if one does not do rituals he becomes a maverick.
Another interesting point to ponder at is there are loads of swamis and gurus in this country and each seems to convince his followers that he is leading them to the right path of awakening or many people may end up following blindly as well. World has become more and more urban but our idea of religion has stayed in rural land. One ? again occupied my thought... Do all religious figures and swami/guru are vegetarians in India? is it the same outside India? especially when talking of Hinduism?
Reflections on experience is what we call as Wisdom ( a recent learning from Gita class...) . So experience alone cannot make us wise if we don't reflect upon it. Always running in morning to catch a bus happens to be one of my experiences which has not been reflected upon....or more correctly even though reflected but no corrective action taken. Is it ok or not? it depends on the gravity of the issue at hand and personal conviction to bring out the change in ones lifestyle.

Is there a meaning to life? --I was searching for an answer to this for quite some time and then i stumbled upon a video by Sadhguru where he says Life has no meaning ... It is too huge to a meaning to itself.
As per my little understanding so far Vedas focus more on making ones life as productive as possible by concentrating on the present and keeping mind under control through intellect.

Even though I have read/seen a lot in past 2-3 months it has not motivated me to change my habits... (or as they say in veda... mind is not in control of the intellect). I keep that lax attitude ...also too long not being exercising/playing outdoors to keep the body active and a sedentary job are contributors as well apart from the most prominent -"ME".
I am motivated at times but then it seems to fizzle out and then cycle repeats after a while. Drug dosage which help in sustaining is missing... what that drug should be is a good ?  Mind is full of thoughts which seem to originating from nowhere ...now I know the source is vasana which is responsible for the thoughts but I cant control anything there but to apply intellect to judge on the thought coming out....

Traveling in bus in dim lights gives ample time to reflect upon as well if one wishes too apart from usual..zzzzzzz.

-If you have read this till the end....kudos ! as its quite hard to follow my random thoughts coming from vasana :). 

visit to Lord Shiva Temple