- BHAGAVAD GITA -🔗

BOOK XV, VOLUME I

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

श्रीभगवानुवाच । ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् । छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥ १५=१॥

Through the study of the Vedas we can understand and overcome our root patterns and establish ourselves in awareness.

The branches of this tree extend below and above the earth, nourished by the three human attributes, guṇa. Its buds are the sense objects. This tree also has roots going down and these are bound to the resultant actions of humans

Real enriching means — you transmitting the highest possible consciousness to others.

Desire is an energy. That energy is abused by creating self-conflicting desires and self-doubting patterns, which put us into restlessness. If we don’t complete with our self-doubts (ātma sandeḥ), we fall into depression, into self-revenge (ātma droha). He gave techniques to clear self-conflicting desires. Our own desires, born out of our mūla vāsanās, the root patterns, carry their own energy for fulfillment, as they are the basic needs and purpose with which we were born. The Universe blesses us with the power to meet all our real needs. When we are born on this planet we are sent with all that we need. However, once here, we accumulate other desires. Because of our root patterns, these desires are the wants that we borrow from others by comparing, copying and envying others. Saṁskāras are stored in our unconscious mind layer. Root thought patterns, saṁskāras, drive our actions. The Bṛhadaranyaka Upaniṣad says, ‘We are our desires. Desires shape our will. Our will shapes our actions. Actions make us what we are.

Now, Kṛṣṇa moves on to the next layer, where saṁskāras are stored in the seed form. Even if we move beyond the three layers of desire, restlessness and depression, these root patterns, saṁskāras in seed form, called bīja saṁskāra (bīja meaning seed), need to be cleared and completed. Kṛṣṇa speaks of techniques to destroy these bīja saṁskāras.

These may not express themselves in us right now. Yet if they are allowed to be there in seed form, at one time or another, they will exploit us. Kṛṣṇa says, ‘The roots of the tree are on the outside; the branches are inside.’ From the causal body, if the roots are taken to be outside, it should be in the earlier three layers ending with the physical body. In a tree, the roots feed nutrients to the tree. The tree takes water and minerals through the roots. The roots decide the condition and growth of a tree. That is why Kṛṣṇa says the roots of the tree are in the physical body. The tree of saṁskāra is watered by the five senses of the physical body and our actions. The saṁskāras in seed form in the causal body are formed and watered by the five senses of the physical body. He says one who has the knowledge that the root patterns or saṁskāras, which constitute the causal body, are the result of the five senses, knows the Vedas or has the knowledge of life's guiding force.

The water a tree receives through its roots mainly decides the condition of the tree. If good water and manure are available, the tree flourishes. The leaves will be green. If poison is poured on it, the tree sheds its leaves and slowly dies. This tree of saṁskāras, which is in the causal body, lives mainly due to the five senses. Kṛṣṇa uses the word aśvattha which also means that which is transient, that which is not today as it was yesterday and which will not be tomorrow as it is today

The aśvattha tree, the banyan tree, is like a human body. Its roots, like in a human being, are above, like our hair. The hair is said to be a channel to draw in cosmic energy. Our limbs, hands and legs are like branches of the banyan tree. The human system is truly upside down! Kṛṣṇa gives a beautiful tip to be complete with the root patterns, saṃskāras. If we are not guided by greed and fear patterns, if our actions are not result-oriented, no root patterns will be created. If you enrich selflessly for at least half an hour a day, it will do you a lot of good. It will create the space of completion in you. While enriching others and yourself, don't plan anything. But at a later date, this time alone will be felt as purposeful and complete. If your enriching service is fueled by the patterns of greed or fear, you may end up in a mess and be a nuisance to others, too.

You need to know, if you are enriching with a vested interest, you will give-up on people. Don't have any vested interest. Enrich just for the sake of enriching. Enriching makes you just grow to the next level of you. Enrich and Be Free from Kārmic Cycle. Listen Don't plan anything. Just do enriching service anywhere. Then the enriching you do will infuse enormous power into your being. Enriching is the power of your being. Real enriching means — you transmitting the highest possible consciousness to others.

Do not enrich with the small purpose. Listen! Now I am giving the right and complete reason for enriching. Because everyone is part of you, enriching every being is nothing but enriching some part of you. Enrich others. Listen! Anything you see is extension of you. Anything or anybody you experience is extension of you. So, when you enrich them, parts of you are enriched. When they feel completion, part of you will become complete.

Mostly we do charitable work based on notions of earning brownie points that will do us good in our afterlife, whether we believe in rebirth or not. Or we would like to see ourselves in the media and feel good. It fulfills our need for attention either in this world or in another world after death. When you work, whether it is charitable as you and society define it, or commercial, as long you do it with no expectation of results, just enriching because others are your very own extension, your actions will be selfless. These actions are not motivated by fear and greed patterns. They will not result in the hangover of root patterns, saṁskāras. When you enrich, you can define the process of your actions and not the results. When a defined process is followed, results naturally follow. If we follow the right path with the right reason, we reach the right destination. It takes courage of authenticity to create the space of possibility and implement this. It takes courage of your being to say that we will work only to enrich without expecting rewards. It takes a truly complete person to cognize the right reason for enriching; that what is important is 'doing' and not 'doership' and that status is not as important as the state of doing.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

PROCEDURE: Squeeze the Glue Bottle on to the paper to make a pattern or design. Sprinkle the paper with salt until the glue is thoroughly covered. Tilt the paper to let excess salt fall away. Dip your paint brush into liquid watercolor paint then gently touch the salt-covered glue lines. The paint will spread across the raised salted glue lines. Let the artwork dry.

The tree of saṁskāras, the causal body which houses the seeds of our root patterns, is similar to the aśvattha tree (banyan tree). It has roots going in both directions-upwards and downwards. The leaves of the tree are nourished or destroyed depending on inputs it receives from the roots. The inputs absorbed by our senses and the impressions our actions eg. words, make on our being, shape our samskaras. The downward roots are not only in the five senses in the physical body, but also deep rooted in our actions. The upward roots are above, like human hair, they can be channeled to draw in cosmic energy.

Let's listen with integrity to a small story: A scholar lived on the banks of the sacred Yamuna river. Daily he offered ritual worship to Kṛṣṇa. A milkmaid brought milk for the scholar on a regular basis. One day, she did not come because it had rained heavily the previous night and the river had flooded. The following day when she arrived at the scholar's home, he asked, 'Why didn't you bring my milk yesterday?' She replied, 'The river was flooded and I was unable to cross it.' The scholar told her, 'Many have crossed the saṁsāra sāgar (ocean of worldly life) by chanting Kṛṣṇa's name. Yet you can't cross a small river. Chant His name and cross!' Like a typical scholar, he showed off his dry knowledge to impress the poor milkmaid while also scolding her for missing a day of service. The milkmaid received his words as absolute truth. From that day onwards, the milkmaid was on time.

Sometime later, the river flooded again. The milkmaid shocked the scholar by arriving at the usual hour. He asked her, 'How did you manage to cross the river?' The milkmaid replied, 'Due to your guidance, master. I chanted Kṛṣṇa's name and walked upon the water as you told me.'

The scholar could not digest it. He demanded proof. The milkmaid agreed. They went down to the riverbank. The milkmaid chanted Kṛṣṇa’s name and walked upon the water. She just floated and crossed the river. The scholar could not believe what was happening. He thought, ‘If an ignorant milkmaid can walk on water based on my teachings, why can’t I, a great scholar?’ He started chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name. But, as he approached the water, he lifted his waistcloth so as not to wet it. He stepped into the water and sank. He didn’t actually have any authentic belief in what he told the milk-maid. He just spoke those words to show off his knowledge. But his inner space felt the impossibility of crossing the water. And the milkmaid was so authentic, her space was filled with making the impossible, possible!

If the disciple is in a receptive mood of listening with integrity, even casual words of the Master can be techniques for his growth; it will enrich him. Even if the master is unenlightened or if the master has no belief or experience of his own words, the disciple's authentic belief in the possibility surmounts any obstacle.

1. The topic of discussion is: 'This Universe can fulfill the needs of all its inhabitants; but it cannot fulfill the wants of even a single person.'

When we are born on this planet we are sent with all that we need. However, once here, we accumulate other desires because of our root patterns, these desires are the wants that we borrow from others by comparing, copying and envying others. With completion the creation of space happens for whatever we want to make as reality.

Cutting Down The Tree

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

The real form of this tree cannot be perceived. No one can understand where it ends, where it begins, or where its foundation is. But with determination one must cut down this strongly rooted tree with the weapon of detachment

If the understanding is present, right action follows

Bringing awareness into the unconscious through the superconscious meditative route of completion is the only correct way to dissolve accumulated saṁskāras.

Kṛṣṇa speaks further about the causal body where saṁskāras are stored. He is an extraordinary scientist. A scientist can honestly search for the truth; he can give up his own faith and belief for the cause of this search and is courageous enough to express the secrets, which he discovers step-by-step. We see these qualities in Kṛṣṇa. He is authentic in His expression or search. He is ready to give up yesterday's truth for today's updated intelligence. Kṛṣṇa continuously updates Himself. Lastly, He is courageous to open up the secrets in public. He is not worried about copyright and intellectual property rights.

The ancient vedic society in India believed that knowledge was free. The idea of copyright did not exist.

Kṛṣṇa is courageous enough to open up all the secrets. Bhagavān beautifully says, ‘narūpamasyeha tathopalabhyate (15.3).’ No one can perceive the real form of this tree. No one can understand where it begins, where it ends or where its foundation is. However, with determination one should cut down this tree with the weapon of strong will and detachment, asaṅga śastreṇa dṛdhena chittvā (15.3).

No one can see what one has stored in one’s causal body. It is like Pandora’s Box. All the saṁskāras stored in the causal layer reveal themselves one by one. When we erase four of them, ten will surface. What is inside nobody knows. Only one thing is possible. All the saṁskāras can be cut by a strong will of detachment. With a strong will, with intelligence, the entire causal layer can be completed. People ask the Master to show them how to get rid of root patterns, saṁskāras. Only strong will and intelligence can do that. Do we ask the Master’s help to take our hands out of the fire? No! We know fire burns. So, we withdraw our hands immediately. We ask the Master only because the understanding is not there.

If the understanding is present, right action follows. If right action does not happen, be very clear that the understanding has not happened. Similarly, root patterns are dangerous. All that is needed is intelligence and a strong will of detachment. Kṛṣṇa explains that after cutting the tree of root patterns, surrender to the space of eternal silence, from where there is no coming back, tam eva cādyamṁ puruṣaṁ prapadye (15.4). This is the space in which the whole of Existence is established. One’s identity is the collection of one’s root patterns, saṁskāras, past bio memories and incomplete desires that are stored in the unconscious mind. This is in the causal layer of our energy. Through deep and focused meditation, we can access this unconscious causal layer and dissolve the saṁskāras stored here. Once done, we no longer return as the same person. We are free of saṁskāras and liberated.

Once we access this point of dissolution of saṃskāras and move on to the cosmic layer, we no longer operate unconsciously at the behest of our stored bio-memories. We move into an intuitive state of completion, as opposed to our earlier instinctive state of incompletion. We are no longer in an ignorant wakeful state, but in the truly awakened state of consciousness. Bringing awareness into the unconscious through the superconscious meditative route of completion is the only correct way to dissolve accumulated saṃskāras.

1. Is it possible to complete all our root patterns one by one?

2. What method does Krishna prescribe for destroying the entire causal layer?

3. Which layer of the human psyche is characterised by eternal silence?

4. What is the difference between operating from the causal layer and actions that originate from the cosmic layer?

MATERIALS NEEDED:

PROCEDURE:

❖ Put a blob of paint in each paper cup. ❖ Each of the six cups should have a different colour. ❖ Now drop one marble into each of the cups. ❖ Swirl the cups around so that the marble gets coated in the colour. Place the white paper inside the cardboard shoe box. Gently drop a coated marble onto the paper. ❖ Shake the shoe box so that the marble runs over the paper in all directions. Once the colour on the marble is exhausted put it back in its cup of paint. And repeat this activity with all the other marbles.

When we are operating from the causal layer we operate unconsciously at the behest of our stored, coloured bio-memories. We move through life based on our instinctive state of incompletion and create more and more messy, conflicting thought patterns within us.

THE DAY

DA, DA DANCE

Materials needed • Clay (7 different colours - if you don't have 7, you can alternate the colours you have), • Dental floss (to cut the creation in half) .

Procedure: Show the image of the seven energy bodies to the kids and ask them to reproduce it with the clay • Roll the small ball dough into a ball (Nirvanic body) • For the next layer (cosmic layer), flatten the medium sized dough (of a different colour) and place it around the first ball. • Pinch the sides closed, removing any extra dough in the process. • Create the 5 remaining layers (causal, spiritual, etheric, pranic, physical). • Cut the layered ball in two using floss. • Ask the kids to use their new creation to show where the saṃskāras are stored and to explain how we can complete the causal layer.

No one can see what one has stored in one’s causal body. It is like Pandora’s Box. All the saṁskāras stored in the causal layer reveal themselves one by one. When we erase four of them, ten will surface. What is inside nobody knows. Only one thing is possible. All the saṁskāras can be cut by a strong will of detachment. With a strong will, with intelligence, the entire causal layer can be completed.

OF THE DAY

Through deep and focused meditation, we can access the unconscious causal layer and dissolve the saṁskāras stored here. Once we dissolve our saṁskāras and move on to the cosmic layer, we no longer operate unconsciously at the behest of our stored bio-memories and enter a space of eternal silence and restful awareness

BOOK XV, VOLUME III

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

Those who are free from pride, delusion, and attachment, those who dwell in the Self, who are done with lust, who are free from dualities of joy and sorrow, not confused and those who know how to surrender to the supreme person, attain the eternal consciousness.

We can create a positive space in our causal layer to make our conscious energy into our reality.

When the spirit is evolved it doesn't revert to a mental setup and root pattern that it transcended in the previous birth.

Here Kṛṣṇa says, 'Those who are free from pride, delusion, and attachment, those who dwell in the Self, who are complete with lust, who are free from the dualities of joy and sorrow, who are not confused, and who know how to surrender to the supreme person, attain the eternal consciousness.'

What wonderful usage of words! He does not say who have 'renounced' lust. No, because renunciation won't do. Vairāgya means beyond attachment and detachment. Rāga means attachment. Arāga means detachment. Virāga or vairāgya means beyond attachment and detachment.

It is non-attachment. Until the age of seven, we are attached to toys. By age eight or nine we are forced to be detached from these. By twenty, most people are complete with toys, beyond attachment or detachment to children's toys. With detachment, we might have renounced it externally. But the inner urge for it prevails.

That is why Kṛṣṇa uses fitting words: vinivṛtta-kāmāḥ, those who are 'complete' with lust. Nivṛtti is the completion you carry that leads to more and more completion.

In this state, we know what we can afford. We know it is there at our disposal. We don't possess anything, we don't own anything, but everything is at our disposal. We can use it or drop it based on the need. Life is also like a toy. If this is fully understood, you will live like a king, not an ordinary materialistic king, but an enlightened king, a Rājarṣi.

This is a tattva (principle). This is not for understanding. This is to be meditated upon. On meditating upon this technique, these characteristics will start flowering in you and give you a clear-cut idea about the causal body. Earlier, Kṛṣṇa explained ways to erase and complete with our root thought patterns, saṁskāras. Now He speaks on the creation of a proper layer. It is about reprogramming your causal layer with the space of completion.

When a desire is fully experienced it leaves your system. Welcome and accept the mind, body and being as it is. Many of us are ashamed of our body. We hate it. All body pains and chronic skin diseases arise out of low self-esteem and disrespect to our body. We would like to be someone else.

We would like to shape our body and dress like someone else. We stop staying within the boundary of our own skin, and fantasize about being someone else. Whenever we hear our name we think of our face, not our whole body, because we are not comfortable with our body. When we do not accept ourselves fully and copy someone else artificially, we can be beautiful at best, but never graceful. Grace comes from within.

For the next few days, watch your body with love. Feel comfortable. Our body oozes bliss all the time. Yet we feel only the pain. If we are relaxed with our body, our mind will not wander. Usually, when we are at home, our mind is in the office and when we are working, we wish we were at a party. Where our body is, our mind will not be. Drop your imagination and dreams, and be complete. Add friendliness towards yourself and others, towards their body, mind and being. Carry words that heal others. Carry your body in a way that heals others. Carry friendliness with you always. This is a spiritual process.

Carry the grace and goodwill of Lakṣmi instead of observing fasts and pūjā. The first time you approach others with friendliness, they may not receive you openly because of your past inauthentic behavior. Persist and persevere. Complete with the idea of impossibility. Complete with your self-doubt. Stand up powerfully. Don't give up on you and others. Don't stop even if others do not reciprocate. Carry on till others feel enriched and reciprocate. Complete! Create the space of friendliness towards your-self and others, and persevere. Lust will turn to love. Your being will be in Eternal Bliss.

Kṛṣṇa says, ‘That supreme space of eternal consciousness, My Consciousness, is not illuminated by the sun or the moon, or by fire. Those who enter that space never return to this material world.’ These words are not advice. They are for contemplation. Advice is the only thing everybody gives and nobody takes! Kṛṣṇa gives these words to program our Causal layer with completion. These are words to contemplate, to meditate upon. They are the hymns to be meditated upon. In the Inner Awakening program, participants are guided through a meditation upon darkness while working on the Causal layer. This darkness is not mere absence of light. It is Energy. The Causal layer of energy is the passage through which the spirit passes on its last leg before it leaves the material world. When the spirit is stuck in this Causal layer, one is in coma. One can be stuck in. This layer for a long time. Those who go past the causal layer, this layer of energetic darkness, where neither the sun nor the moon shines, nor fire warms, progress onwards to the Cosmic layer and then to the nirvanic layer, which signifies true liberation. One can meditate upon this technique, upon this truth expounded by Kṛṣṇa, through the darkness meditation in some of our meditation programs. This meditation, which focuses on darkness, liberates one from the fear of death and the fear of loss of identity that causes the fear of death. Death is not an option. Death of the body is certain. Separation of the spirit from the body-mind is painful. When the spirit is such that it has completed and created the space beyond attachment and lust and is constantly focused on the Self, then there is no return for that spirit into another body-mind complex. Else it returns. Kṛṣṇa points out that the death of the body is a certainty, however, the death of the spirit is impossible. The spirit lives on. When the spirit is evolved it doesn't revert to a mental setup and root pattern that it transcended in the previous birth, that's all.

1. What is vairāgya or non-attachment and how is it different from Arāga or detachment?

2. What is the Nivṛitti Tattva?

3. How can we reprogram our causal layer with the space of completion?

4. How can dropping our imagination and fantasies make us complete?

5. How can we create the space of friendliness towards your-self and others?

6. What are the benefits in doing so?

To make a warli stick figure, draw an 'X' shape and join the edges on both ends. Add a small line to make the neck and make a circle for the head. Add stick hands and legs. Fill the figurine with colors. Use your imagination to create warli patterns showing village life, community activities, dancing etc.

Add friendliness towards yourself and others, towards their body, mind and being. Carry words that heal others. Carry your body in a way that heals others. Carry friendliness with you always. This can be your spiritual practice to attain Eternal Bliss

THE DAY

BODY POSITIVITY

Materials needed Paper Pen, pencil, markers, eraser Ruler Heart stickers, etc.

Procedure:

Ask the kids to reproduce the following worksheet and to fill it Ask the kids to share their understanding of grace: How can they start radiating grace? What is the difference between beauty and grace? Describe a Being who radiates grace

Many of us are ashamed of our body. We hate it. All body pains and chronic skin diseases arise out of low self-esteem and disrespect to our body. We would like to be someone else. We would like to shape our body and dress like someone else. We stop staying within the boundary of our own skin, and fantasize about being someone else. Whenever we hear our name we think of our face, not our whole body, because we are not comfortable with our body. When we do not accept ourselves fully and copy someone else artificially, we can be beautiful at best, but never graceful. Grace comes from within.

DA, DA DANCE

Procedure:

Have someone demonstrate and teach the children some basic classical Indian dance movements. Alternative is to practice the Karanas in the Yoga Prathama Vinyasa Krama 108 Asana Sequence.

Bhakti can be expressed in movement

1. Contemplate on the sentence: "Rāga means attachment. Arāga means detachment. Virāga or vairāgya means beyond attachment and detachment." Take turns to explain to the group your understanding of vairāgya and its benefits.

With detachment and complete awareness we must complete with our desires. We must reprogram our causal layer with the space of completion.

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

The living entities in this conditioned material world are a portion of My eternal Self; in this conditioned material world they are attracted by the six senses, which include the mind, dwelling in prakṛti, the active energy principle

After crossing the three layers and going beyond the causal layer, you enter a space where you are free from conditioning. This is the space of completion and creation!

We have the choice to redefine that vāsana, that smell, into either a stink or a wonderful fragrance.

Jīva bhūtaḥ—conditioned living entity, ‘conditioning’ is the new word that Kṛṣṇa uses here. Recent research tells us that human beings walk on two legs due to conditioning.

A group of scientists recently found a seventeen-year-old boy in a forest. Wolves had raised him. The scientists tried to teach him how to walk on two legs and speak a few words.

They were unable to do this and he died within a year. Man walking on two legs is due to conditioning. Everything we consider as human nature is nothing but conditioning. Here Kṛṣṇa says, ‘conditioned world, jīva-loke’. Everything is conditioning. Right and wrong, honor and dishonor, are all conditioning, all are patterns. We think of honor or dishonor because we are taught that way. We are conditioned. If a group of people give us a certificate and clap their hands, we take it as an honor. That is the way we are taught. But never judge yourself by others’ applause. This idea of honor drives many people mad. Never accept the judgment of the crowd.

Kṛṣṇa says 'taking these, gṛhītvā etāni saṁyati (15.8)'. What does He mean by 'these, etāni'? In the previous verse, Kṛṣṇa talked about the six senses, including the mind. He refers to them here. When the spirit leaves one body and moves to another body, it carries the six senses, ṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi, the five physical senses and the mind, in the same way as the wind carries fragrances, vāyur gandhān ivaśayāt (15.8).

We have the freedom to act: the free will to decide and act. Ironically, only an enlightened Master has no freedom. Enlightened Masters are driven by Parāśakti's will; they are guided by Her, that universal power, into doing what they must do. Understand: I cannot take a single step on my own. My limbs move in accordance with Her wishes. The ordinary human being, jīva bhūta is in control of his destiny. All that nature provides are paths in our lives and we choose the path we travel by. We decide the path. What drives us into taking one fork or another is vāsana, the 'smell' that the spirit carries. It is the subtle imprint of our past actions, saṁskāras and karmas. It is not definitive or predestined. We have the choice to redefine that vāsana, that smell, into either a stink or a wonderful fragrance. It is in our hands only. Whether we wish to travel in the same merry-go-round or decide to break out and walk free is our decision.

Rāmakṛṣṇa beautifully says that the soul travels from one body to another like we move from one room to another. When He left His physical body, His wife Sārada Devi was about to remove her jewelry. (Traditional Hindu families do not allow a widow to wear jewels, especially the sacred thread signifying marital status, and bracelets.) Just as she was about to remove the sacred thread, Rāmakṛṣṇa appeared and told her not to remove it. He said, 'Where have I gone? Just to another room. Don't remove your jewelry.' From that time till her end, Sārada Devi followed His words. This may seem easier today. But in those days, in an orthodox Hindu family in a small village, it was not so. She was highly courageous.

Someone who completes with all social conditioning, who sheds all root patterns in his causal layer, moves from body to body as easily as moving from one room to another. We create big buildings. We accumulate a good bank balance. We have friends. Just as we start enjoying life, suddenly death appears before us. We fear death only because it takes everything away from us.

If we are unattached, if our causal layer is not filled with saṁskāras, if we are not gripped by social conditioning, we will not fear death. We know it is like moving from one room to another. As Kṛṣṇa says in Sāṅkhya Yogaḥ, 'It is like changing one dress for another.' The saṁskāras of this life are the result of prārabdha karma, the mindset and bio memory, along with the spirit from the vāsanas, the imprints of the past birth that are carried into this birth. It is always a mix of pain and pleasure.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Used Glass jar Glass paint outliner (black or gold colour) Transparent glass paint or glass stain Paint brushes Cotton swabs (optional)

PROCEDURE: Remove any paper labels on the glass jar, wash it clean and let it dry. Make the outlines of the design of your choice on your glass jars, you will need to use a glass paint outliner. Allow the outlines to dry completely. Apply the glass paint inside the outlines. If bubbles appear in some areas, simply paint over the bubbles. Let your jar dry.

Like a piece of Glass the human being is pure consciousness, free from all social conditioning, root thought patterns, samskaras and desires or vasanas. However, due to our delusion, with our mind we color ourselves with false patterns of samskaras and vasanas.

YOU ARE THAT

Start by asking students to identify out loud the social conditionings that they feel have impacted their lives. What are their ideas of "right" and "wrong", etc. Then, ask them to discuss what they can do to remove those thought currents from their space. After a few minutes of discussion, narrate this small story: Queen Madalasa gave birth to seven children. Each child became enlightened by the age of seven and moved out of the kingdom. Their father, the king, was puzzled. How did seven children in a row become enlightened? He probed into the issue and found that Madalasa had taught them one phrase, Tat Tvam Asi (You are That). Just by internalizing 'Tat Tvam Asi', their mental setup changed. They were complete with the root thought patterns, saṁskāras in the causal layer. They became enlightened.

When we recognize that we are pure consciousness, we destroy all seed thought patterns that reside in our causal layer and we are not moulded by social conditioning. Anyone who completes all social conditioning, who sheds all root patterns in his causal layer, starts living enlightenment

VAAKYARTHA SADHAS

1. Topic of discussion is "Just as the wind carries fragrances, consciousness carries saṃskāras, causal level imprints, from body to body."

On our death, consciousness carries our saṃskāras, causal level imprints, from the discarded body to the new body. Then we live another lifetime, driven to action based on the vāsana, or subtle imprint of our past actions, saṃskāras. And thus the never ending cycle of birth-and-death continues. If we are unattached, if our causal layer is not filled with saṃskāras, if we are not gripped by social conditioning, we will not fear death.

BOOK XV, VOLUME V

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

The living entity, the spirit, leaves one body, takes some other body and gets new eyes, ears, nose, tongue and sensing body according to the samskāras it had in its causal layer and enjoys the new mental setup

If we change our mental setup, within a short time, our senses are recreated and even our face changes.

Fools in ignorance do not perceive the spirit being united with the guṇās as its enters, enjoys and leaves the body. The one whose inner eye is open clearly perceives everything

Only those whose eyes are trained by knowledge can see the truth of this science of completion.

Here Kṛṣṇa reveals another secret. He says, ‘You create a body according to the root thought patterns or saṁskāras in the causal layer. Kṛṣṇa says that we create our sensory organs, according to saṁskāras in our causal layer. Kṛṣṇa says that living entities create all five senses through the mind or mental setup. This happens not only when we take another body. Every day when we wake up from deep sleep, our senses are recreated. If we change our mental setup, within a short time, our face changes. You Create Yourself Every Moment. Our ‘mind, manaś ’ is the intelligence spread all over our body. It is the intelligence that resides in our cells. Each cell carries genetic intelligence. Body and mind are not separate entities. It is just body-mind or mind-body, one system. Within this body-mind system, scientists say that every moment of your life thousands of cells die and thousands of new cells are created.

This is a constant process that Nature, the universal intelligence, dictates. It does not happen because of us; it happens in spite of us. In a period of a little under two years, every part of our body, every cell in our body, gets renewed. Our body as it was a year ago is not the body it is today. This is not fiction; it is a proven scientific fact. Then why do we behave the same way as we have for years? Why do illnesses plague us for years, even though the cells are no longer the same?

Each cell as it dies, leaves behind a memory that the newly created cell follows. That is the bio-memories, saṁskāras within us. The saṁskāras ensures the continuation of a pattern despite complete changes in the body-mind system. These saṁskāras are more powerful than the rest of the body-mind system. It decides and drives.

The deep sleep we go into everyday is a rehearsal of our death process. We die and are reborn. Our subtle body leaves the gross body and returns re-energized if we allow it to. It is in our hands to maximize this process of rejuvenation that happens automatically everyday. Through meditation we can clear our saṁskāras and be reborn. We can change our features, our character and behavior, all by reprogramming our saṁskāras. That is why people radiate grace after they start meditation. Beauty is created by make-up. Grace is radiated by meditation. Grace makes the occupant feel at home. It soothes the atmosphere. Beauty creates excitement. Beauty moves the other person into rajas (restlessness). Grace creates calmness, satva. Grace puts the other person in energy.

He never kills a blade of grass by his walk. We are spiritually evolved souls only when our feet do not create a path, when we float while we walk, when we do not go against nature.

Here Kṛṣṇa says, we create our senses according to our root patterns, saṁskāras. This happens not only when we die and take birth; we redesign our senses to suit our root patterns everyday, when we wake up too. If we wake up with the right mental setup, we will have our senses accordingly and for the whole day we can enjoy it. If on the other hand, we get up with negativity, we suffer.

Kṛṣṇa further says, the type of senses we create determines the type of sensory objects we enjoy. If we create positive senses, we enjoy a positive life. If we create negative senses, we suffer a negative life. The type of senses we create determines what type of objects or pleasures attract us, and we experience that. Our senses, intelligence and our body-mind system create the energy field around us. This energy field attracts similar energy fields. If we are negative, if our perceptions are negative, we attract people with negative mindsets and descend into a vicious cycle. However, if we do completion with all our negativity, sufferings of the past and do the creation of a space of positive emotions and positive perceptions, we attract like-minded, positive people and situation

One more thing, understand, if you have dreams, whatever type of dreams it may be, whether it is good or bad, or whatever; if you have dreams, then you have incompletions in you. When you start doing completions every night, your dreams will reduce. Listen. I am defining dreams. Incompletions expressing when you are unconscious is dreams.

Incompletions expressing when you are conscious is thinking. If you have a dreamless sleep, I guarantee, you will have birthless life! If you have dream-free sleep, you will have birth-free, death-free life! When you travel from the causal layer to the physical body, pick up completion, the satva (peaceful or blissful) saṁskāras. Have a spiritual thought of completion as the first thought.

Think of your Master or God or anything that gives you a spiritual memory. That is why in India, ancient Mystics tell us to meditate early in the morning. At least for a few seconds be in a blissful mood. Your inner space will be fresh and new.

Kṛṣṇa says, ‘Only those whose eyes are trained by knowledge can see the truth of this science. The whole science of completion is before you. He says fools cannot understand and only those with eyes of knowledge, can see. The choice of being a fool or a man with eyes of knowledge, jñāna-cakṣu is left to us. The choice is completely ours.

1. What are dreams?

2. What are thoughts?

3. Why are the few moments immediately after we wake up crucial?

4. What does the feeling of heaviness around our navel area indicate?

5. Do meditators radiate grace?

6. What are the characteristics of a graceful person? How can we have a fresh and new inner space?

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Real leaves Paper or fabric Poster paint (for paper) or Fabric paint (for fabric) Paint brushes

PROCEDURE:

Use real leaves to make beautiful leaf prints on paper or fabric. Collect leaves of various shapes and sizes. Both fresh and fallen leaves will work for this craft. Take one leaf. Flip it so that the underside is facing up. Paint the entire surface of the leaf. Carefully place the leaf, painted side down, on your paper or fabric. Press firmly for several seconds to transfer the paint from the leaf to the paper or fabric. Remove the leaf to reveal a leaf print. Repeat with different colours and different leaf shapes.

Our 'mind, manas ' is the intelligence spread all over our body. Each cell carries genetic intelligence. Every moment of your life thousands of cells die and thousands of new cells are created. Each cell as it dies, leaves behind a memory that the newly created cell follows. That is the bio-memories, saṁskāras within us. The saṁskāras ensures the continuation of a pattern despite complete changes in the body-mind system.

FIRST THOUGHT

Materials needed

A small booklet for each child that they can transform into a journal, pen, pencil, eraser, etc

Procedure:

First, give context by telling the students that the first thought with which we get up from our bed plays a major role in our enrichment throughout the day. Tell them to always go to sleep in the space of completion and to wake up with a spiritual thought of completion. Tell them that they will notice their face changing, their eyes having a new look and their body radiating grace.

FIRST THOUGHT

Then ask them to reflect by writing a short paragraph explaining how the cognition they woke up with affected the whole day. Ask each student to share their realization and end the activity by giving the guidance written in the inference section below

The few moments immediately after we wake up are crucial. Whatever we feel will be reflected the rest of the day. If we radiate joy, our whole day will be joyful. If we are irritable, our whole day will be irritable. What is our first thought usually? First we feel awake. We feel our body. Then it may be the fear that we must go to our office or it may be the greed to finish some work. At the stroke of the thought, fear or greed, our body jumps out of bed. We connect to our body through fear or greed. Kṛṣṇa says that if we catch our body with fear or greed, we attract more and more fear or greed throughout the day. There are many gates to enter the body. Never enter through the fear or greed gate.

OF THE DAY

One version of the great Indian epic Ramāyaṇa says that when princess Sītā, the incarnation of Devi Lakṣmi, entered the court of King Janaka, her father, all the great kings, monks and mystics stood up automatically. This was not a protocol. The grace she radiated caused this response in them. Beauty can create only temptation in the other person. Only grace can create respect. The grace radiating from Sītā's being made everybody stand up.

Grace is radiated by meditation. Grace makes the occupant feel at home. It soothes the atmosphere. Grace creates calmness, satva. Through meditation we can clear our saṁskāras and be reborn. We can change our features, our character and behavior, all by reprogramming our saṁskāras. That is why people radiate grace after they start meditation

BOOK XV, VOLUME VI

Not Achievement

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

The serious practitioner of Yoga, with an understanding of his self, can see all this clearly. But those who do not have an understanding of the self, however much they try, cannot see

POWERFUL COGNITION

Yogis, sincere spiritual practitioners, lift this veil of māyā, destroy the illusion, to see beyond into the truth of their oneness with the Divine

As the sun, moon and the fire, Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate Master who leads us into awareness of our natural state of completion.

Entering into earth, I support all beings with My energy; becoming the watery moon I nourish all plant life

In the form of light and heat, Krishna is the sustainer of all beings within this Universe. He is the energy of the watery moon and through this energy He is the life energy within plant life, and therefore food.

I am the fire of digestion in every living body and I am the breath of life, exhaled and inhaled, with which I digest the four-fold food

Food is divine as Krishna has his imprint on it.

Kṛṣṇa uses the word ‘yoginaḥ’ in this verse. It is important to understand what He means by this. Yoga has become a buzzword; a trendy, fashionable word for cool people. Yoga is the link, the union, between the individual self, ātman, and universal Self, cosmic consciousness, Brahman. Awareness of this link, awareness that the self is the same as the Self, leads to liberation. The understanding happens in an instant; however, the practice leading to it requires a disciplined approach. In today’s world, my opinion is that dhyāna, meditation, is best suited for spiritual progress and for the realization that one’s self is part of that cosmic Self.

Kṛṣṇa says that until that awareness happens, however much one may strive, one will not reach Him.

Understand, here we are talking about awareness, not achievement. The truth is that our individual self is an integral part of the Universal consciousness, the Self.

This truth is not something that we need to work towards. It exists. It is. We are blinded by individual ego, māyā, the illusion of our individual identity, in forgetting that we are part of the Collective consciousness. Yogis, sincere spiritual practitioners, lift this veil of māyā, destroy the illusion, to see beyond into the truth of their oneness with the Divine.

Meditation is the path and technique to lift this veil. Meditation enables the practitioner to go deeper and deeper into himself. Meditation brings about awareness of what is.

Light is the sustainer of life. Light is one of the first manifestations of the Divine in creation. Without light and heat from the sun, life as we know it would be impossible. Everything in this world revolves around energy received from the sun in the form of light and heat. The sun is also the dispeller of darkness. Not only does Kṛṣṇa establish that He is the creator of this Universe—the solar system, sun, moon and the fire which sustain our lives, but He also tells us that He is the Dispeller of darkness. Kṛṣṇa, as the Master, as the Guru, is the Dispeller of darkness. Guru means one who dispels darkness. As the sun, moon and the fire, Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate Master who leads us into awareness of our natural state of completion.

You are vibrating a magnetic field. There are two frequencies inside you. There is a self in you which has a frequency of its own, this is what I call the energy of possibility of enlightenment. In Saṃskṛit we use the word jīvātma— individual soul. Then, there is the mind in you which it has the frequency of its own, this is the energy of the pattern and suffering present in you, which derived energy from the ātman.

there is a mirror in front of me. I always saw the mirror only reflecting these lights. Because, I have always seen this mirror lit up, I forgot that it only reflects, it does not have its own radiation, its own natural light! In the same way, because you always see the Moon reflecting the Sun, you forget Moon does not have its own light! Same way, your mind does not have its own energy. But, from the time you saw your mind, it was always reflecting the consciousness. Because of that you started thinking, you started feeling your mind as independent energy, which is not! So, the patterns you carry inside you have no

Darkness is not a positive entity. It cannot be shifted from point to point. However, it can be destroyed by light. The presence of light dissolves darkness. The presence of awareness of completion, our frequency of consciousness destroys saṁskāras. Darkness has no existence of its own. It only exists when there is no light. We cannot create darkness. It is the absence of something. From Me comes Light, Fire, Life energy Kṛṣṇa further expands on His pervasiveness. In the form of light and heat, He is the Sustainer of all beings within this Universe. He says that He is the energy of the watery moon and through this energy He is the life energy within plant life, puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥsarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ. In the form of light and heat, He is the Sustainer of all beings within this Universe. He says that He is the energy of the watery moon and through this energy He is the life energy within plant life, puṣṇāmi cauṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ.

Kṛṣṇa affirms that He is Brahman and through His manifestation of the various natural elements of space, air, fire, water and earth, He is responsible for plant life and therefore for food and human beings.

Without plant life, there is no food. Without food, there is no body and mind. Body and mind become food for others after death. Food is an expression of divinity. The energy behind food is both the creator and destroyer of saṃskāras.

Most of us treat food as a basic necessity or an object of sensual pleasure. We ignore it or become addicted to it. We need to be aware of what we eat. Before eating, offer gratitude to the Universe for what you have received and meditate upon the food. Traditionally Hindus offer oblations to the Divine and chant prayers before eating.

Major changes happen when you follow these customs with awareness. What Kṛṣṇa implies here as well is that food is divine since it has His imprint on it. We tend to take food for granted. Offering food to other living beings, has been considered a form of worship in Hindu tradition. Food has always been considered the repository of the Divine.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Real leaves Crayons or oil pastels Paper (preferably thin or lightweight)

PROCEDURE: Place a leaf with its bottom side facing up on your desk. Put a sheet of paper over the leaf. Rub the side of a crayon or an oil pastel gently on the area over the leaf. As you do this, you'll see the colored areas start to take the shape of the leaf. Continue until you've rubbed over the entire leaf. Repeat with other colours.

Saṁskāras or root thought patterns are products of darkness, our unconscious. Darkness has no existence of its own. It only exists when there is no light. We cannot create darkness. It is the absence of something. The presence of light dissolves darkness. The presence of awareness of completion, our frequency of consciousness destroys saṁskāras.

THE DAY

TWO FREQUENCIES

procedure Let’s find a creative way to convey an important message. Three to four persons (Actors) from the group shall come in front of the group and enact the idea below in a play format. Actors may use props and placards to explain the following idea clearly and powerfully: There are two frequencies inside you. You have a frequency of consciousness in you, which has energy of its own. And you have the frequency of mind in you. The frequency of the mind is the pattern, incompletion, suffering present in you. The mind has no energy of its own, it only reflects either the frequency of your consciousness or the frequency of your mental patterns.

Awareness destroys mental patterns, and you start radiating at the frequency of your consciousness alone.

1. The topic of discussion is "Food is the repository of the Divine." Start by asking students about their cognitions about food (how do they relate to food, what are their food habits, do they offer the food to the Divine, etc.) then let the discussion flow.- At the end, ask each student to write down their new cognitions about food.

Food is divine since it has Krishna's imprint on it. We tend to take food for granted. Offering food to other living beings, has been considered a form of worship in Hindu tradition. Before eating, we must offer gratitude to the Universe for what we have received and meditate upon the food.

BOOK XV, VOLUME VII

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

We are one with the Divine, and Kṛṣṇa is seated in our hearts.

The puruṣa that is kūṭastha is the imperishable aspect of this energy. It is the energy of the spirit that is indestructible, akṣara.

Kṛṣṇa says that He is seated in everyone's heart. He is memory, He is knowledge, He is forgetfulness. What does this mean? How does our mind work? How does it invent beliefs? We don't even know where our mind is. If I ask you where your mind is, you will point to your head. That's not your mind. Every cell in our body has inbuilt intelligence. These cells constantly regenerate themselves. These cells present everywhere make up our body-mind system. Therefore, there is no one place where our mind is definitely located; certainly it is not in our head!

This unconscious area or the root where the mind is born is powerful enough to make you feel powerless or powerful. It can be used in three ways: at the instinct level, intellect level or intuition level.

Next is the intellect level. Here, we are conscious; we make decisions logically, but we don’t have extra enthusiasm or energy. We are not creative or innovative; we don’t take big steps; we don’t grow.

We don’t experience the space of possibility and expansion. We make decisions in a logical and conscious way, that’s all. When we are at the intellect level, we are not tired; yet we are not energetic either.

We are in a break-even state. At this level, we do not use our potential to the maximum.

Constant completion without root thought patterns, and bringing integrity in our words, authenticity in our actions melts the intellect layer. The level where we can actualize our entire potential with power of thinking, power of words, power of feeling and power of living is the intuition level. This is the space of completion and creation. If we can infuse deep silence and completion into the unconscious zone and replace root thought patterns, then we are at the intuition level.

If you come to a decision after multiple thoughts, it is ignorance. If you come to a decision after one clear flow of thoughts, it is called intelligence. If you come to a decision without any thought, it is called intuition.

The greatest wealth lies within, not outside. The greatest joy lies within, not outside. In the outside world, every experience of joy is followed by sorrow. Joy creates expectations and when expectations are not fulfilled, they lead to sorrow. When the search begins inside, expectations drop, attachments drop and a new joy of completion happens. That joy is eternal, never ending.

It is Ānanda, Nityānanda, eternal bliss. Because we are unaware of this, we search outside for happiness, because that is the only way we know.

Puruṣa is the Ultimate Energy from which all emanates. When Einstein read this verse from the Upaniṣads, written possibly tens of thousands of years ago, he said,

‘I felt proud that I had discovered that matter is energy. Many thousand years ago, these Sages knew this, and also knew that matter arises from energy. The last step in science is the first step in spirituality.’

More and more, scientists are beginning to sound like the Eastern Mystics. They no longer have the attitude of scientists of a hundred years ago who felt that they were rewriting the laws of Nature. Our Vedic scriptures said this over thousands of years ago. Śaṅkara has said again and again that the Seer influences what is seen. That was over a thousand years ago. The primal energy principle, puruṣa is like potential energy. It is energy, but passive. It is the operating principle behind the entire Universe. Without this energy, nothing will exist. Nothing will live.

Kṛṣṇa says that there are two kinds of puruṣa: one is eternal, akṣara and one perishes, kṣara. The puruṣa that perishes is the body-mind energy embedded in all beings, including humans. This energy has a definite, limited lifetime. It is always changing. There is nothing permanent about it. It is programmed for deterioration and destruction. The puruṣa that is kūṭastha is the imperishable aspect of this energy. It is the energy of the spirit that is indestructible, akṣara. It is the Soul that is forever, that which cannot be destroyed. Kṛṣṇa points out that primal energy manifests in different ways, as perishable and imperishable. Both are aspects of primal energy. One is destroyed and the other lives. One who realizes this difference and understands the true nature of puruṣa is liberated.

Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa beautifully narrates:

An arrogant scholar was very proud of his learning. He was a great Advaitic (non-dualitistic) scholar and did not believe in the various forms of God. Then, God came to him one day. The mother goddess appeared before him in all Her splendor. She came as the primal energy, Parāśakti. The scholar was in a swoon for a long time. When he woke up, he shouted, 'Ka, Ka, Ka.' He could not fully pronounce 'Kāli,' the name of the goddess whom he had seen. Words cannot describe the Divine! Scholars argue endlessly about the nature of puruṣa, the various aspects of puruṣa, the difference between prakṛti and puruṣa. It strengthens their ego. When the Divine presents itself before them, they cannot recognize or cognize what they see.

THE DAY

THE LAMP OF KNOWLADGE

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Clay deeyas Acrylic paint Paint brush

PROCEDURE: We must light the lamp of knowledge in our hearts and come to the self realization that we are one with the Divine, and that Kṛṣṇa is seated in our hearts.

We must light the lamp of knowledge in our hearts and come to the self realization that we are one with the Divine, and that Kṛṣṇa is seated in our hearts.

Procedure

• Think back into your life and remember incidents when your expectations were not fulfilled, and it leads you to sorrow. • Share your experience with the Group. The group moderator will help the group contemplate on the distinct pattern that can be seen in all incidents and experiences. • We will observe that in the outside world, every experience of joy is followed by sorrow. Joy creates expectations and when expectations are not fulfilled, they lead to sorrow.

The greatest wealth lies within, not outside. The greatest joy lies within, not outside. When the search begins inside, expectations drop, attachments drop and a new joy of completion happens. That joy is eternal, never ending. It is Nityānanda, eternal bliss.

1. Albert Einstein, famously said "The last step in science is the first step in spirituality". Do you agree and why?

Modern science is based on logic. Scholars argue endlessly about the nature of energy, the various aspects of energy, the difference between matter and energy. It strengthens their ego. However, the ego becomes an obstacle in their path to realize the ultimate truth that God is the ultimate energy from which all emanates.

Authored by

THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM

there lies another level of energy that is the Supreme puruṣa or Puruṣottama, which is the energy that pervades the entire Universe. Krishna says he is Puruṣottama.

POWERFUL COGNITION

Krishna is beyond perishable and imperishable.

Krishna is the supreme energy who causes us to move.

Everyone merges into the collective consciousness, the space of oneness, Advaita.

Kṛṣṇa says that beyond these two aspects of puruṣa, the perishable body-mind energy and the imperishable spirit energy, there lies another level of energy that is the Supreme puruṣa. He goes on to say that He is that Supreme puruṣa, Puruṣottama. Puruṣa is the energy that pervades us. Puruṣottama is the energy that pervades the entire Universe. Puruṣottama in that sense is no different from Parāśakti, the cosmic energy. It is only a play of words to separate Puruṣa as male and śakti as female, while describing the ultimate Cosmic Consciousness

All-pervading Energy Behind Life The Universe is imperishable. The energy behind the Universe is imperishable. Kṛṣṇa says that He is that energy, the Puruṣottama, that drives the Universe eternally. He is Puruṣa, the energy, and Prakṛti, the matter. Without Him, nothing moves. We see Puruṣottama in different ways, depending upon our upbringing and capabilities. Now, Kṛṣṇa presents the great truths about His true representation as the collective consciousness, the Supreme Self.

All our minds are not individually separated pieces of the Universe. They are all one and the same. All our minds are interlinked. Not only interlinked, they directly affect each other. This is what I call collective consciousness. Anything we think affects people around us. Not only are those near us touched by our thoughts, so is everyone living on planet Earth. Listen. We are not individual islands, separated from each other and uninfluenced by each other. Only one truth called collective consciousness links all of us

Not only at the mental level, even at the deeper level of consciousness, the deeper we go, the deeper we are connected. In Existence, there is no such thing as a separate individual identity. Once we know this truth, we will go beyond pain, suffering, depression and disease. Understand that as long as we hold onto the concept of individual consciousness, we will be continuously suffering, physically or mentally or on the being level. Why do we continuously resist Nature? Whatever Nature offers, we resist. When the weather is cold, we resist. We think we are different from Existence. I never thought that I was different from the atmosphere, never had the feeling of separation from Nature. It is only when we think that we are different from the atmosphere, from the air around us that we resist it. You see, we are a part of the Whole. If we fall in tune with the Whole, the Whole behaves as a friend.

When we think that we are different from Nature, as long as we think that we are an individual consciousness, Nature protests against us. If we disappear into the collective consciousness, we are protected and taken care of. We attain complete success, not only socially and economically, but we experience it as well. It will be a feeling of fulfillment, an experience of complete completion. We don't realize that merging with the collective consciousness will liberate us in totality. We resist and hold on to ourselves. As long as we do not disappear into the collective consciousness, we continuously create hell for ourselves and for others.

At the ultimate level, at the spiritual level, the moment we understand that we are deeply connected, totally connected to the whole group, to the whole Universe, not only do we experience bliss, but we really live, opening many dimensions of our being. Right now we are stressed out and disturbed continuously. With our separate body-mind, we need to think too much, we need to try too hard to enjoy life. If we disappear into collective consciousness, we open many dimensions, many possibilities

. See, now with only this one body we have, we can enjoy so much. Imagine what we can do when we have many bodies! If the multitudes of bodies increase, so does the joy, the bliss. This is our experience when we realize we are a part of the collective consciousness. When we experience that we are boundaryless consciousness, we experience infinity. It is difficult to imagine. When we experience the feeling of non-duality, Advaita or collective consciousness, when we experience the bliss of collective consciousness, we forget differences of name, wealth, social status and prestige; whatever we think of ourselves disappears. The truth of who we are is revealed.

The wave thinks that it is separate from the ocean. It does not realize that it comes from the ocean and goes back to the ocean, that it is the ocean. Just as the wave is part of the ocean, we are part of Existence. How can we attain or reach Puruṣottama, when we are already a part of Him? We can only gain awareness that we are a part of Him This is the profound secret teaching of Kṛṣṇa. In this chapter, Kṛṣṇa becomes the ultimate Master. What is the difference between a Master and teacher? A teacher knows intellectually; a Master knows experientially. A Master has experienced what he is speaking, the truth. The Master never allows anyone to get stuck with ordinary experiences. Even though we call it a spiritual experience, it is only when we stop experiencing anything that we enter into a real spiritual experience. Only in such an experience, the Experiencer, the Experienced and the Experience, disappear into one; all three merge into the experience.

Only 'we' remain, even the word 'we' can't be used since there is no other, all boundaries are lost! Unless that experience of 'Tat Tvam Asi, That Are Thou,' happens, unless the experience of 'Nithyānandoham, I Am Nīthyananda,' happens, the Master never rests.

The Master is the ultimate Master surgeon who removes the ego at all levels, the ordinary or the spiritual. People have spiritual ego when they have a 'holier than thou' attitude. The Master will never allow us to be stuck in that area. He pushes us forward until we experience the Ultimate. The more we allow His surgery, the more we realize the Truth. A few people run away from the operating table during surgery; that's dangerous. Before surrendering, do all the checking, verifying, window-shopping. But once you surrender, allow Him to work on you.

THIS LESSON TEACHES US THREE TRUTHS

MERGING AS ONE

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Balloon Newspaper Tissue papers Glue Paper Cup Scissors Acrylic paint Decorative items

PROCEDURE: Let us make a beautiful flower vase using balloon and tissue papers.

Take a balloon and inflate it to its maximum size. Take a newspaper sheet, tear it into small pieces. Make a glue solution and soak the newspaper pieces in it. Paste the pieces on the balloon. Cover the whole balloon with at least two layers of the newspaper. Crush tissue papers and paste it on top of the coat of newspaper. Let the layers dry. Deflate the balloon by pricking it with a pin. You will get a paper mache shell. Use the base of a paper cup to draw a circle at the top and the base of the paper mache shell. Cut along the lines of the top and bottom circles to make two holes.

Insert a paper cup upside-down into the bottom hole and firmly fix the cup to the shell using glue. Now cut out the bottom of the other paper cup. Now insert the hollow paper in upright position into the top hole and firmly fix the cup to the shell using glue. Now, colour the flower vase with different acrylic paints and decorate it with embellishments as best as you can.

The real spiritual experience is when we stop experiencing i.e. the Experiencer, the Experienced and the Experience, disappear into one; all three merge into the experience. Only awareness of existence remains, all boundaries are lost!

Start by reading the small story written below to the students and then ask them to create their own small story about merging into the collective consciousness. At the end, have the students tell their small stories to the class. “Once there were two ants sitting on the rim of a cup that contained amṛta, the nectar of immortality. As they were talking, one of the ants lost his balance and was about to fall into the cup. He somehow managed to get back on the rim. The other ant asked him, ‘Why don’t you want to fall into the cup? Even if you drown in this, you will become only immortal.’ The first ant replied, ‘But I don’t want to drown!’

If we disappear into the collective consciousness, we are protected and taken care of. As we hold onto the concept of individual consciousness, we will be continuously suffering, physically or mentally or on the being level. If we fall in tune with the Whole, the Whole behaves as a friend. The moment we think, discriminate or behave with the Whole in the opposite way, it acts like an enemy.

1. The topics of discussion are: 1) “A Master teaches through his body language”. What is the Master’s body language like? How can we learn from it? 2) “The Master is the ultimate Master surgeon”. What is the surgery? Are you willing to go through it? What experiences of it have you had so far?

A master inspires and takes us to higher levels of conscious experience, until we realize that we are that eternal consciousness; our true potentiality.

Ebook ISBN: 979-8-88572-488-3

© 2020 Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam. All Rights Reserved