Hello dear Sundari, thank you for your understanding.

Finally—six years after my first encounter with Shiningworld I began, just a few weeks ago, to think seriously about *sadhana*.

And yet, then I had immediately realized that Vedanta was exactly what I wanted in my life—that I no longer needed to search for anything else. (It all clicked, and I could stop seeking.)

Sundari: This often happens when inquirers first encounter Vedanta – there is the immediate ‘rush’ and excitement of hearing the truth of who you are for the first time. As the Self always knows itself even when the mind is under the spell of ignorance (duality), the recognition – literally ‘seeing again’ – is immediate. However, unless you are very highly qualified, which most are not, what stands in the way of Self-knowledge instantly removing all ignorance is the stubborn hypnosis of duality. 

The idea that you are a person with karma who lives in and transacts with the world, is hardwired.  The tricky part is that moksa is freedom from and for the jiva. Unless Self-knowledge translates into your life without having to consciously think about it, Self-knowledge is not direct.  Indirect knowledge, knowing about the Self, is not moksa.  That is why we say that Self-realization is where the ‘work’ of self-inquiry begins, not ends.  The process of freedom takes as long as it takes, depending on the dedication and commitment to freedom from the jaws of duality the inquirer has.

GF: For six years—through the Shiningworld website and channel—I read texts and listened to numerous videos almost every day; I even lit candles and incense, participated in webinars, and so on. But! I realized that the practice and study of Vedanta were *not* my daily priority. I lacked the desire to change my life, to resolve my suffering… I lacked the desire for liberation.

Sundari: As I said above, if you are not dedicated and the desire for freedom is not your strongest motivation, duality will always win.  You may still long for freedom but the fruit of self-inquiry eludes you. That is why all the qualifications are so important, but particularly mumuksutva –the understanding of being trapped in limitation and the overriding desire for freedom from it. The first part of that last sentence is very important. If you don’t understand that you are trapped and why you are trapped in the jaws of Maya, you will not have the drive to be free of it. A typical samsari or worldly person is like that. A prisoner in a cage believing they are free, railing against the unfairness of life, afraid of their inner demons, afraid that ‘others’ will see that they are unlovable, worried, afraid of life, afraid of death, afraid of everything. Yet normalizing this as ‘the way it is’.

And that is the way it is if you are trapped in duality. But Vedanta gives you the right kind of glasses – the nondual ones that work even if your human eyes do not – to ‘see’ that game as the hypnosis of duality. To ‘see’ that you are the witness of it, that it is a dream appearing in you. To see that there is nothing wrong with the world or with you other than the fact that it is only Maya that separates you from knowing and living as the Self, appearing ‘here’ in human form.

GF: I  read, studied, and listened to a great deal of Vedanta, yet without truly wanting to *know* the Self (Self-Knowledge)… I was merely learning things *about* the Self (knowledge *about* the Self)—or about Karma Yoga, Dharma, and so on. I knew—or perhaps feared—that only greater suffering would compel me to undertake *sadhana*; and, indeed, that is precisely what is unfolding in my life right now.

Sundari: Indirect knowledge about the Self is better than none, but it does not remove ignorance.  However, this is part of the process, so do not be hard on yourself.  Everyone goes through this stage, and for how long depends on qualifications. The mind is inherently lazy and looks for shortcuts because the ego does not want freedom.  It wants to maintain its hold on the mind and the identification it has with being ‘a person’. There is nothing to gain for the ego to commit to moksa – it fears its own demise.  This is why many people fear powerful teachings because of the change they will bring to their lives. 

Committing to self-inquiry entails hard work and giving up not only your egoic comfort zones, but also the ego’s fantasy idea about who you are.  To ‘do’ self-inquiry properly means being willing to investigate and have revealed EVERYTHING about the jiva persona.  It must all come to light, not because it is important and definitely not because it is ‘true’. Because it is hidden and denied. 

I repeat: only ‘stuff’ that is buried and denied causes pain. But seeing it is not pleasant at all for the ego; in fact it can often be excruciatingly painful as most egos are very fragile entities.  You see this in the way we all have to go out of our way to be ‘nice’ and PC in our interactions with others. It is so easy for people who believe they are people to get offended. ‘You bad person, you ‘hurt’ my feelings’!!  While it is polite and kind not to hurt people’s feelings or they yours, feelings are not you. You would be much better served to investigate why you feel what you feel, what samskaras your feelings come from and where those truly originate. Beginningless ignorance, the gunas, of course.

The ego will avoid objectifying its feelings and really seeing what is behind them like the plague. Best keep that bad stuff buried, who needs to know about it! This is why people are so terrified of facing their ‘bad’ shame-filled side, and so afraid anyone will ‘see’ it! So desperate is the ego to be trusted, liked and accepted. without having to ‘go there’.

The biggest problem with not being committed to self-inquiry and what that really entails is that you will never make progress with your sadhana until you make peace with the fact that both dharma and adharma are woven together in mithya. They cannot be separated. And the only way to step out of that whirlpool is with Self-knowledge. I expand on this in the satsang I posted recently,’ The Angel and Demon in Me’. Read it if you haven’t already.

Additionally, if you have the karma of an inquirer, avoiding ‘doing the work’ and not committing to self-inquiry will lead to more suffering, as you know. Toxic ideas do not go away because they are buried. They only get stronger and more toxic. When the time comes for you to grow, you are sitting in the hot spot. You can be sure Isvara will keep turning up the heat until you face what needs to seen.

GF: At first, I didn’t know where to begin; I didn’t know how to “structure” my day around the Self. Sure… there was Dharma… Karma Yoga… devotion… the core values… the prerequisites (qualifications)… How many times had I read and listened to Vedanta teachings from Shiningworld? Many times—so very many! Yet, I still didn’t know—in concrete, practical terms—how to “structure” that practice within the context of my daily life.  

Sundari: Again this is a normal part of the process of learning how to surrender to the teachings and committing to trusting that only they – not the ego – can lead to freedom. It involves putting all your ideas aside and allowing the scripture to re-train the mind, which has been entrained by duality, to think completely differently. It is not easy and the ego finds many ways to sabotage this. But the teachings work if you persist.

GF: Fortunately, I remembered Rory Mackay’s “Enlightenment Protocol” and began practicing the Morning and Evening Rituals. This proved to be very important. The simple act of placing my hand on my heart—and then radiating love—was a game-changer in terms of truly *feeling* what Devotion is, as well as the spirit of Karma Yoga. It was a beautiful experience. I realized that (correct me if I’m wrong) the fourth requirement—the burning desire—can be cultivated by starting from the heart.

Sundari: Most definitely. In Italian there is such a lovely term for this – ‘dolcezza di cuore’, literally the sweetness of the heart. Yoga calls the heart the hrydaya, and although we like to think that it is located physically in the human heart, it is really not located anywhere.  It appears in the ‘heart cave’, ‘located’ in the Causal Body.  It means the essence, or ‘that without which a thing is not a thing’, like sweetness is the essence of sugar; sugar cannot be sugar without sweetness. It means that the true essence of everything is Consciousness. So when you bring the mind’s attention to it, you are focussing on the bliss of the Self. The trick is not to objectify the bliss but to know it as your true essence.

GF: On the other hand, what I find very difficult is knowing how to deal with the psychological suffering of the *Jiva*… Is it *Prasad* (a sacred offering) for *Ishvara*? … What should I actually *do*? … Should I simply observe it? … Should I try to manage the *gunas*? 

Sundari: As Vedanta points out at every opportunity – with all things, and particularly psychological suffering – the first and most important question is to ask: ‘ to whom does this suffering belong’? If you are the knower, it cannot be your suffering.  Yet, that still leaves the question of what to do with the jiva’s suffering, which can be intense.  The only reason applying the guna teaching to ‘your’ psychological suffering is important is to have the tools to disidentify with it as ‘yours’.  

While it seems to come from and belong to your life story, actually all suffering is an eternal principle because it comes from and belongs to the Causal body, beginningless ignorance.  It is caused by the hypnosis of duality, resulting in the misapprehension of your true nature to be the jiva instead of the Self. This is behind all psychological suffering, no matter what the story is.

A true inquirer and karma yogi sees what is there to see in the play of the gunas and the vasanas they create, understands where it comes from, that it is not the truth and not real, discriminates between satya, Consciousness and mithya, the jiva, and offers it to Isvara as a sacrifice on the altar of karma yoga. So yes, to deal with ‘your stuff’ is essentially a three part process:

1. See it objectively, accept it for what it is without blame or shame. Do not deny it.

2. Apply the guna teaching – see how each guna plays out in your story, which one (or ones) dominate. Discriminate between Consciousness and the jiva.

3. Manage the mind with karma yoga by surrendering ‘your’ stuff to Isvara. Really surrendering, not lip service.  And trust Isvara to render all binding vasanas non-binding with the removal of ignorance.  Though Vedanta gives you the tools, it’s not an easy or simple process for the mind, and it may take a long time before deep samskaras let go and dissolve in Self-knowledge.

GF: Lately—even when I am reading or listening to teachings on Vedanta—I am often assailed by fear, guilt/shame, and a desperate sense of loneliness… Consequently, I find myself unable to read or listen to material regarding topics such as “qualifications,” “values,” and so on; rather than offering me comfort, they only make me feel inadequate.

Sundari: The first thing to keep in mind is that you are not unique in this. Everyone in the grip of Maya has some version of this tape recording on repeat running in their mind. Shame, the idea that we are unworthy, unlovable, bad or whatever else, is a universal samskara. It is what we call ‘free floating anxiety’ and it comes with the idea that you are a person. The only solution to this agonizing mental/emotional fragmentation is to follow the steps above. 

Recognise that this is just a recording your mind made up based on ignorance that is simply not true. Not from the relative point of view as a jiva, and certainly not as the Self.  These are the voices of rajas and tamas, fear and denial, and you do not have to listen to them.  You can simply say NO! Visualize yourself switching the recording OFF. And keep doing this for as long as it is necessary.

GF: My question is this: for instance, if I choose to focus solely on *other* topics within Vedanta—bypassing the more challenging ones—am I engaging in “spiritual bypassing”?

Sundari: No, you cannot skip this part because it is fundamental to the whole process of self-inquiry. Many inquirers try this and they simply get stuck. See why above.

GF: Or is this actually a beneficial approach, in that these more “comfortable” topics at least keep me connected to the Scriptures, while perhaps simultaneously allowing me to attend to the *gunas*?

Sundari: It is more pleasant and convenient to skip this part of course. And reading the Scriptures is always a good thing.  You can definitely skip the work of cleaning up the jiva if you are 100% seated in the Self. Then, and only then, you can rightly claim that the gunas and all vasanas are not you so why bother with them? Anything less than that is simply a spiritual bypass and qualifies as enlightenment sickness.

So, again, the simple answer is: NO. There are no easy cuts or shortcuts to freedom. As stated, to skip this part, which makes the ego happy, simply means ignorance is more powerful and more entrenched. To benefit from the fruit of Self-knowledge, you must face the inner demons and see that they are just paper demons.

At the same time, you do not need to wallow in mind vomit, as Chinmayananda called it.  You do not have to psychoanalyse yourself to death.  Just see things objectively, taking a stand in Awareness. Objectify, objectify, objectify.  The fear and reluctance you feel is just rajas and tamas trying to stop your progress.  Don’t let them. Hear this again: there is nothing whatsoever wrong with you. The only problem is ignorance of your true nature.          

GF: Perhaps I overdid it with the psychology at the end of the email…

Be patient, I’ll summarize the Jiva’s problem…
…to sum up the Jiva issue of feeling his heart in pain, what to do?
1. Just always taking a stand in Awareness/the Self;
2. Just always crying as long as needed by the body;
3. Managing the gunas until the mind is back to “normal” efficiency;
4. What else?

Sundari: See above.  Patience is important because ignorance is the hardest thing to eradicate from the mind. Be kind to yourself, nurture and allow the dolcezza di cuore to grow.

Keep at it dear friend, you are always supported

Much love

Sundari

 This week was a momentous, intense and sacred week in Bali as the predominantly Hindu population prepared to celebrate en masse the ceremony of Nyepi, their New Year. A three part process, first is Melasti, a communal cleansing ritual to purify humans and the universe they inhabit of negative influences, sad and bad thoughts or karma, and past misdeeds. 

Then there is the parade of the Ogoh Ogoh, literally hundreds of incredibly artistic though frightening and imposing effigies crafted primarily by the youth in their villages over many months, are paraded throughout the island. They are created not only to symbolize the demonic aspect inherent in humans and nature alike but also to absorb all the negativity from humans and the environment.  After being paraded through the streets, despite the artistry, time, cost and months of work that goes into making them, most are taken to the cemetery and burned. This symbolizes the purification and release from the negative influences in preparation for Nyepi, the official Balinese New Year.

On Nyepi, for 24 hours the island observes complete silence, no-one is allowed on the streets, to work or to use electricity. It is a blessed day in Bali! What is so interesting about this is not only how very different it is from the typical pleasure seeking way most people in the West observe New Year. The contrast could not be more stark! What is so evident is the humility with which the Balinese recognize and honour the inherent forces, good and bad, that operate in the field of experience, and the necessity to purify the mind and the field of the imbalance they often cause.  They are fully aware that dharma and adharma are woven fine into the fabric of life. Unlike most Westerners, the Balinese Hindu people have lives dedicated to God, and sacred ceremonies to honour that are a way of life for them.

What is important about this for us as Vedantins is to recognize that these forces, positive and negative, angelic and demonic, sacred and profane, are all guna generated, eternal and universal. They are not personal though they play out in our personal and global lives in seemingly personal and constructive and often highly destructive ways. Because of the nature of mithya (duality), which is a zero sum, there will always be angels and demons in manifest and unmanifest form. The names, forms and stories change, which we call our history or world history, but they are always the same forces in micro or macrocosmic form. I.e., rajas and tamas out of balance with sattva.

Most of us would prefer to think that we do not have a ‘bad’ side to us, that the only true demons are ‘other than’ and outside of us, a conveniently erroneous idea for the ego. As humans, we all know we have demonic side, but we are all so afraid of revealing it for fear of not being trusted, liked or loved.  Ironically, the most likeable and trustworthy people are those we who are transparent about their human failings.  Ramji’s great gift to us as his students is that he models this fearlessness for us. He is completely unafraid to exhibit his shortcomings (along with his ‘longcomings’!) for all to see!

To unconditionally love, accept and disidentify with our personal identity, the jiva or ego persona, we have no choice but to face the demonic aspect in ourselves. It comes with the program of being human. Unless you are born a bona fide saint, which is highly unlikely, you are not exempt. As humans, we all know we have demonic side, but we are all so afraid of revealing for fear of not being trusted, liked or loved.  Ironically, the most likeable and trustworthy people are those we who are transparent about their human failings.  Ramji’s great gift to us as his students is that he models this fearlessness for us. He is not afraid to exhibit his shortcomings (along with his ‘longcomings’!) for all to see!

There is no escape from the fact that life in the field of experience is a dance between dharma and adharma; both forces are operating in mithya at all times. There is no changing this or turning mithya into nirvana as the idealist hopes for. That is a pipe dream and will never happen.  Ultimately, the only real protection from the vicissitude’s of life, the ego’s fantasy dream identity, and the solution to zero sum, is Self-knowledge. It is knowing that no matter what, you are the sum. The total. You are not in the dream, are unaffected by it, and the knower of it. Yet, for peace of mind for the jiva, we need to understand, objectify and de-personalize these forces, live dharmically and serve life as God.  We need to purify the mind of the negative aspects of all three gunas, while aiming primarily for the upside of sattva.  Not as a destination or identity, which is a big trap called spiritual arrogance, but as the springboard for Self-knowledge to shine forth and remain our default and primary identity.

While the Balinese Hindus are not non-dualists, we see how the acceptance of and respect for the nature of life plays out in their lives.  They are almost unfailingly unguarded, warm, friendly, dharmic and naturally kind. They are not neurotic. While they are not exempt from the usual human tendencies and failings, they are for the most part, refreshingly positive and healthy human beings. Their culture and faith is something they fiercely maintain despite the price they pay for allowing hedonistic mass tourism to flourish on their little island. Quite inspirational!

The lesson here for us is that to live free of the jiva and free as the Self, it is very healthy to have a ritual or object that symbolizes and objectifies the angel and the demon within. Something to remind the ego of it’s true status, and keep it humble. This is why the Balinese have so many demonic like symbols in their environment. Do it, even though you as the Self know full well that the jiva persona/ego is an object known to you, and ‘good and bad’ are just thoughts appearing in you.  Moreover, if you do not already have one, begin a daily devotional practice, no matter how small.  Give thanks and give back. It matters because you will be a happier jiva.

Sundari

Sundari: Managing the gunas well is dependent on understanding what they are and how predictably they work. There are times when there is no way to say no to tamas, though for those of us who tend to run on rajasic/sattvic fuel, that is not always easy to surrender to, especially if the balance tends toward rajas. But Isvara will then simply load up more tamas, and if you keep resisting and trying to avoid it, burn out or worse is in inevitably in store. 

On the other hand, if you don’t manage tamas with rajas, sattva will become inaccessible. A deeply tamasic mind is not a good place to be – and this is reflected not only in a dull sluggish mind.  People often miss recognising tamas, sometimes even confusing it with sattva, because rajas is not strong. It can give the illusion of being peaceful., sattvic Like the feelgood of a drug like dope, among others. Tamas makes the mind stupid and blind to what is really in front of it.  The effects of excessive tamas take longer to manifest, but they are every bit as destructive to peace of mind as excessive rajas.

If tamas and rajas are controlled by sattva, they are both very efficient energies. Sattvic rajas is behind discipline, focus and clear eyed (NOT manic) efficiency. Sattvic tamas, especially working with sattvic rajas,  provides endurance, a focussed, disciplined but unworried mind. You are a disciple unto the Self. And of course, tamas is essential for sleep.  The brain runs on electricity, and unless the neural pathways switch from beta, which is the fast alert energy we need for activity, thinking and planning, to alpha, a lower frequency which sattva and tamas induce, you won’t be able to slow down, meditate or sleep.

So if rajas or tamas consistently overpower sattva, beware. Your mind will fragment and your life will self-destruct very fast. But getting stuck in sattva can be the most insidious of all because it seems like such a desired end goal.  While peace of mind is the goal, it’s not moksa. Spiritual specialness is a definite pitfall for the mind, and when it is entrenched, is as nasty as too much tamas or rajas.

CC: Now, after rest, my mind has the guna’s more evenly spread again, although still a bit tamasic. But that is nothing new either and a good part of my mind is pretty tamasic; more so then I once thought. It’s ok, it’s jiva’s make up – mentally sattva/tamas.

Sundari: As long as sattva is in charge most of the time, tamas has a lot of upsides aside from sleep, as mentioned above.  It gives endurance, patience and accommodation far more bandwidth and staying power.

CC: Mostly I feel rajas physically more than mentally, which makes it easy for physical work. But this time around it was both physical and mentally – lot’s of thinking, writing and faster than usual and full of internal dialogue. 

Sundari: Rajas is the high energy guna, and it is great to use when it does not take over the mind/intellect.  It is good as a servant  when needed, but a very bad master. More like a neurotic race horse out of control. It your neaural ciruits are firing mostly on rajas – you will be stuck in stress, hypervigilance and mental looping. Burnt out is guaranteed.

CC: So, yes, from Self’s perspective there isn’t a difference, but from jiva’s there is and here the fun also came; two visions simultaneously, cracking jokes with Ishvara. Ishvara has a bit of a different voice then jiva has and if I write it down they aren’t that funny, but while painting, Ishvara goes like ; ‘ Ah, so you think I need to be whitened up, again? ‘ Jiva; Yes, you cannot seem to stay white on walls, only when you are snowing you seem to get it right.’ 

Ishvara; ‘How so? The paint is white like my snow! ‘ 

Jiva; Sure, but it doesn’t remain white! So now I have to ‘wash’ you up; some job you gave me, remember?’

Ishvara ‘ That is not my fault, people mess up my wall’s white…’ 

Jiva ‘ Whatever, here you go Ishi ! ‘ and I rolled the walls all white, smiling all day long. 

Sundari:  It’s fun to personalize if you objectify and understand the difference and the sameness between Isvara/Jiva.

CC: It was a positive ride, and I wondered how someone like Chinmaya, who had quite a lot of rajas, had no problem with it whatsoever. What I mean to say is; this rajasic episode I took, more than usual, to tackle the idea that it extraverts which isn’t helpful per se. But, no guna stands in the way really and so 

Sundari:  Chinmaya absolutely had no problem with rajas but used it to great and maximum effect for the purpose Isvara gave him to complete. His was a very large life, and he had a big job to do. Like anyone who uses rajas a great deal, it wore him out.  He did what he had to do and to accomplish it he needed a lot of rajas. I’s that simple. But he still paid the price physically, though you can be sure he never identified with any of the three gunas being the Self.

CC: I had a chance to step out of a kind of bias towards rajas. A sense of sattva remained in all stages it seemed, or I was easy enough to not be bothered by the whole ride. In fact it was full of joy 🙂 Once tamas ‘kicked in’ I didn’t change, of course, and neither was I unhappy. Just dull, and fine. 

Sundari: By “I” you refer to the jiva.  The Self is never involved either way; just the witness. I sometimes get the feeling that James is biased towards rajas as he tends to sattva/tamas as well.  But he is not really because he is fully aware that all the gunas are mere objects that can be manipulated with knowledge for the jiva to achieve certain ends, and to have a good life.

CC: But if one is fine and actually feels this, while tamasic, then I thought, it must be that there is also sattva present or it is like deep sleep, which is tamas but not at all a problem: that is my question.

Sundari: Sattva is the true nature of the mind and never not present, just not accessible when rajas or tamas dominate and obscure it.  How would you know that ‘you’ (as a jiva) are happy/unhappy/unaffected unless sattva is present? Sattva is not the Self but it is the guna for intelligence and clarity, and the springboard for Self-knowledge.

Deep sleep feels good because the mind/intellect is subsumed into the Causal body. ISleep is needed so that the body/mind can rest and repair, which is essentail. However, the feelgood feeling from sleeping comes from the fact that the Subtle body is resting in bliss – beyond the reach of vasanas/gunas. But deep sleep is pure tamoguna because there is no knowledge at all that the mind is resting in the Self. 

As we all know, without enough sleep the mind destroys itself and the body would eventually fall apart and die.  The mind just cannot be ‘on’ all the time. The weight of the gunas/vasanas on the mind, the force and wear and tear of duality, is just too much

CC: I see the guna’s a bit like a fractal function. And sattva can also be quite extraverted, it seems. Is that true? 

Sundari: Yes, indeed. Take Chinmaya – his rajas was entirely in the employ of sattva, and look what a dynamo he was! It’s a very fine line though, without Self-knowledge.  Both rajas and tamas have very positive aspects, but all three gunas have serious downsides too.

CC: It reminds me of satyaloka, but in my case not so ‘holy’, although all is. Or the Sattvic bliss. It depends, I suppose, in what way any experience is interpreted, and to what degree Self-knowledge is boss.

Sundari: As stated above, sattvic bliss is very desirable but can be as much of a prison as any of the gunas out of balance.  Still, you want sattva to dominate rajas and tamas or you have big trouble. When you manage the gunas accordingly, ALL experiences are seen through the lens of Self-knowledge. Though circumstances make them seem to change, they always play out in the same predictable ways. It’s not rocket science, but it is very subtle and tricky to stay objective because Maya is so powerful.

CC: Also, after resting and to my surprise, I suddenly saw my attachment to Vedanta together with the ‘throw away’ of it. Now both are true. 

Sundari:  You can only throw away Vedanta when you know what it is – a means to an end.  When you realize you have always been the beginning, middle and end, that there was nothing to ‘get’ only ignorance to lose, what’s the big deal? You don’t need crutches when you don’t have a broken leg. But that doesn’t mean you ever stop enjoying the scripture because it is known to be the Song of the Self.

CC: It is – to my mind – always an amazing matter; how not-knowing leads to so much trouble and/or speculation while knowing is so real and normal that I need not think at all. 

Sundari: Ah, yes.  Maya is the ultimate illusionist, and very good at deception – normalizing the abnormal, and abnormalizing the normal.

CC: I hope I make sense … 🙂 My mind isn’t perfect but it doesn’t need to be, and I like to think, align all thoughts with the Vedanta, for it always makes sense. 

Sundari: You always make perfect sense 

Much love

Sundari

ShiningWorld.com

Sundari:  How can you disappear?  You are never not present …

CC: The ‘crash’ came with a sort of ‘knock-out’ but was just a nice landing really. After so much energy output, physically and mentally, it had to happen 🙂 – which also resulted in a clear settlement in what these guna’s do and don’t do. 

Sundari: Guna knowledge is the game changer in living an intelligent sane life, and they work predictably so once you know, you know. Rajas and tamas cannot be separated – though what is interesting is that excess rajas inevitably ends in excess tamas, but not the other way around. Yet, once tamas gets hold of the mind, it is very hard to get out of it, but the only way to do so is with rajas.  Sattva is just not available.

Conversely, the most effective (but not easy) way to get out of excess rajas before it becomes entrenched tamas, is with sattva, again, not easy but possible but requires discipline.. Though sometimes, tamas is the first or only option, if only to sleep. Excess rajas extroverts the mind so much that the nervous system becomes fragmented, in permanent fight or flight mode.

As Ramji has been teaching the last two Sundays, sattva can also pose a big problem. It  so easy to be seduced by the idea that you are somehow special or different when the knowledge first dawns that you are the Self, the witness and not the experiencing entity. It is akin to waking up from a very deep, very long sleep and seeing clearly for the first time.  What most don’t realize is that whether you run off to India and get high immersing yourself in the sattvic peace of ashram life, which is very common, or whether you just think knowing who you are makes you different from everyone else, that is enlightenment sickness.

The golden cage of sattva traps most inquirers at some point. Luckily, there is a cure, but only if the ego is prepared to accept its demotion, and the reality check that being the Self is ordinary. That is the tricky part, and it is where ‘the rubber meets the road’ in the real meaning of moksa. It can be a tricky balancing act managing the gunas, but Self-knowledge does the job. 

As you know, a true jnani is simply the witness of the gunas, just observing the play without being disturbed.  But it is very unpleasant for the mind to be overrun by either rajas or tamas, as it is to get unwittingly caught up in the illusion of spiritual specialness. So taking the appropriate knowledge based approach to managing the gunas may be required.

CC: I often don’t know the difference anymore between Ishvara and jiva, in some sense, but they are funny – it’s all free. 

Sundari: There is no difference from the Self’s perspective. But there is a big difference from the jiva’s perspective in that their abilities are vastly different.  It’s only ‘all free’ if you truly know that.

CC: It’s like seeing jiva and Ishvara as the same, and me and making jokes amongst each other also, talking beautiful nonsense. 

Sundari: Yes, if by ‘me’ you mean the Self

CC: I mean to say that a refining of mind is going on and that this is very much like a celebration and very quiet. I would like to check some things with you on this but it isn’t in word-mode yet. But the sheer joy to be, and to not apply it to circumstance reflexively, or subconsciously.. phieuw… 

Sundari: As always, you are doing a pretty good job of it! Alway here if you need any clarification.

Much love

Sundari

Sundari: As an inquirer, the body poses the biggest obstacle and challenge to Self-knowledge because it is the ultimate symbol of duality, of change and inconstancy. And though it can be negated as a non-essential variable with Self-knowledge, which is the absolute key to moksa, the body/mind never goes away. Until the body dies, of course. Even when you know that your true identity is the Self, the body is still subject to the gunas.

The body is on loan to us from Isvara; it does not belong to us. It is part of the field of existence, and never the same from moment to moment. The processes that go on every minute of every day to keep us alive, and at the same time, move us toward the death of the body, are mind-blowing.  Both syntropy and entropy are always going on, until death wins. Which it always does, in the end.

Most people have zero or very little knowledge let alone appreciation of how incredible an instrument the body is. The intelligence that keeps it going, and is imbued in every cell, is an astonishing miracle.  Even though many do not respect the body for what it is and does, sadly most people are very much identified with the it because it is the most ‘there’ thing in existence for us humans, who are self-conscious and aware that we ‘have a body’.

Coupled with the fact that the Gross body is run by the Subtle body (mind) which is reflected consciousness, most people are identified with the mind as ‘who they are’. All the same, the body/mind may not be real from the nondual perspective, but ignoring the body/mind is virtually impossible. It is ‘in your face’ at all times, other than deep sleep.  Which is why deep sleep is such a blessed relief and so essential.

The field of life is a sea of constant change, of things that bite and bless. The gunas are cycling constantly, as are our vasanas, especially if they are binding, as they are for most people. It’s a case of respect, adapt and die, because you cannot live or die well if you do not honour and accommodate to life. The body causes so much trouble for most people, either because it is going through inevitable changes like menopause or aging, or it is unhealthy through lack of respect and knowledge of how to look after it. Or it is a prisoner of mind that is run by rajas and/or tamas, and deep binding samskaras.

The only solution to the body/mind problem is to manage the mind with Self-knowledge. But even with Self-knowledge, the body can be such a drain, especially when in pain or deep discomfort, which happens to everyone ‘in a body’, sooner or later. It is not hard to see how things can and do become very difficult for anyone, even dedicated inquirers, to stay focussed on the Self as the witness of the body. Sattva is always present, but not always easy to access when  the body is ill, in pain or discomfort, for whatever reason.

What always matters most is discriminating satya, the Self, from mithya, the body/mind.  James’ talk this Sunday on Zoom will be on negating the non-essential variables, which is at the root of self-inquiry, so that the inquirer becomes firmly seated in the Self, satya, as its primary identity. But to get to where the secondary identity as the person, the body/mind, is handled, no matter what is going on with the body, requires fully understanding mithya, the apparent reality.  That is where inquiry matters most. It is impossible to jump straight to satya without first understanding and negating mithya.

Aka, ‘your’ body/mind and the field of life it exists in. Your story and how you/it relates to every moment of your existence. Is that as Existence, capital ‘E’, that which makes all experience and knowledge of experience/objects possible and objectified? Or is it existence as in I keep getting sucked into the experiencing entity, and believe that is who I am, with all the trauma being a body/mind involves?

Like so many other inevitable changes, menopause is just another process affecting the body. While men go through changesd and have hormonal difficulties, women definitely have it tougher in some ways because of the unique functions the female body has. But whatever gender, it is guaranteed that the body is always subject to change. It is going to be used up and discarded one fine day, and every day we get closer to that. But most important of all and our saving grace, the body/mind is an object known to me, the Self. 

You can do a lot to manage the mind, especially if you have Self-knowledge. But nothing to be done about the body’s natural changes, except taking appropriate care of it, and remaining the witness. You are not the body/mind. You are eternal and cannot change, are never born and cannot die. Have deep compassion for anyone who does not know the truth of who they are. Mithya is a cruel master. 

As for how I dealt with menopause, even though I have always been healthy and fit, the body does what it has to do. As stated, there is no escaping its cycles and the ever constant cycling and changing of the gunas. Menopause just intensifies that process because of the wild swings between rajas and tamas, making sattva difficult to maintain. 

I found bio identical hormone therapy helped a lot, and I was lucky that menopause was relatively mild for me. Of course, I was very blessed indeed to have firm Self-knowledge and was able to understand the process, objectify and disidentify with the body/mind. It is not an easy thing to do, but Self-knowledge does work if it is firm.

I hope this helps

Sundari

Sundari: I can really understand why you feel so strongly about the preservation of the environment, it’s a noble dharmic quest. It’s so hard to understand why Isvara also supports those who break dharma. Mithya really is a tough thing to figure out. It can all seem so hopeless from the jiva point of view. The only option and way to make peace with it is to keep doing what one can, stand up and fight when and where one can, and remain dispassionate as the witness. What unfolds (or doesn’t) is not in the jiva’s control. 

On some level we as jiva’s cannot understand, everything is working as it must. Not perfect, just the way it is. And it really does not touch you as the Self because it is all a dream known to you. I know James gave you similar advice – do what you can to expose this bully, play the game.  It isn’t a pleasant thing to do.

Keep soldiering on in the dharma army with a smile, and remember to laugh at the absurdity of it all. You are such a kind, good person. With regards to losing connection to yourself, that is not actually possible.  Your emotions temporarily got in the way of access to your Self. Emotions will do that if we do not quickly regain dispassion when they are triggered, and the mind identifies with the feelings. It clearly triggered an old pattern – you had the same situation with a family member some years ago.  And you stood up to the bullying.

Don’t be too hard on yourself, feeling management is the toughest part of anyone’s journey. It is human to get rattled when faced with such aggression and vitriol, the usual MO of bullies. It is horribly unpleasant, but you are free to feel as the Self. Just keep it objective and don’t dwell on the bad feelings or get sucked into the toxicity. Responding from emotionality is the weakest response and will only worsen things on all levels.

I think you should keep doing what you can with quiet and determined dignity, and do not give in to the bullying. James gave you good advice, I think you should follow it. Remember bullying always comes from weakness, not strength. Bullies win by bullying, but see the fear behind it, feel compassion for the kind of mind that must resort to those tactics to get what it wants at all costs. However hard it is to see, behind the fear, the bully too is God.

Or you can let it go without blame or shame. It’s a tough fight but if you don’t have to fight it, hopefully Isvara will send someone else. Or not, and things will be what they are. There is an upside and downside to everything. We never know what Isvara knows because only Isvara is omniscient.  As unbalanced as the mithya field seems to be, especially these days, there is always a bigger picture behind it all.

Take heart, this is a very nasty situation and fighting like this is not in your nature. It’s OK to be human, up to a point. Beyond that point, its bondage and suffering. 

Much love

Sundari

ShiningWorld.com

Sandra: Yes, goodbyes! As I am myself hypnotized by mithya all through the day, my heartstrings get pulled and the impermanence of it all catches me up and hypnotizes me again and again.  Sweet and bitter and beautiful and fleeting moments. And then I find consolation in Vedanta.

Sundari: That’s the way it goes for most people, even most dedicated Vedantins. Maya is pretty persuasive, and it’s all too easy to get sucked in by it.  Vedanta really is the only true refuge from and for the jiva, one that is not itself an attempt to escape, run from or deny.

Yet it brings the ultimate and only escape, Self-knowledge. This gradually wears down the reality of the jiva persona, and though it can still enjoy the sheer improbable and sublime beauty of mithya along with its profanity and beastliness, the mind does not get unhinged or sucked in by either. 

Then, as a good friend of ours said, though it’s even easier for the jiva to get subsumed in the bliss of the Self, you are ok with being an ok person who knows they are not perfect and not really a person. As limited as the mind is, Self-knowledge makes it expand way beyond its finite borders, and everything becomes all right.

It’s the art of living well, with genuine kindness toward your (not) self and everyone else’s, to breathe easy with the zero sum of life, so that it becomes an all-sum. Mithya may be zero sum, but you are the sum of the total, and no matter how you look at that, break it down or it gets broken, you are the one looking at it. You are always the sum total. Nothing gained, nothing lost.

To live with life as it is, to show up and do our best according to Isvara’s decree. Some days all we can do is manage that, and maybe poorly. But the witness of good and bad days is always the same, and never affected.

These words are just words, and they can inspire those who understand and confuse those who don’t. But the Isness of I am has no words. No matter how much weight words carry, they are always only pointers. 

Sandra: You are a true warrior and are marching on with love in your heart to the new adventures around the bend. I so admire your way

Sundari:  I don’t know if I qualify as a warrior, or what it actually means to play that part. It may seem to take courage to go with what Isvara decrees, especially ‘at our age’, if one buys into that jiva brain washing. Which of course, we don’t. Several people have asked us, and I am sure many more wondered, why did we sell and have to move? Well, ask Isvara.

Actually, it’s the easiest way to live to surrender to Isvara.  For sure the jiva will still have to get with the program, it is far wiser to jump in the cold river and allow it to take you where you are supposed to go.  Not clever to hold back – Isvara will only step up the heat until you take that plunge.

Humans want to cling to sameness because the mind craves safety and the known. Yet nothing in mithya is ever truly known, and to believe that it is, is to be deluded. To  apply karma yoga appropriately means taking action when you are supposed to, not running away or making excuses. And surrender the results. This is how we operate, and it’s the only sane way to live. The roots of the old life have been pulled up, there is no putting them back in. New life will blossom. 

We move forward, never looking back, knowing without doubt that everything of true value is always with us, here and now.

Much love

Sundari

Sundari: So true, the both/and of it – and then going past that to pure and unequivocal nondual vision.  Which makes accepting the jiva and the experiential factor without contradiction:  you are that which makes experience and the experiencing entity possible. No more confusing the two orders of reality.

CC: Isvara is boss, finally, I mean; not just devotion but directly – since a few months really, I see how I tried to unravel differences between surrendering, stubbornness, the will to know it all perfectly and the no-need of it. Acceptance … 🙂 

S: As long as you can discriminate between satya and mithya and you don’t get sucked into jiva drama, acceptance is automatic. I mean, who is the I that does the surrendering or accepting? If there is a surrenderer,/acceptor, there is a subtle but stubborn doer who may still ‘wants to know it perfectly’. While ‘grokking’ the whole teachings is important, and doing so is a great way to train the mind to think non-dually, ultimately all you need is the firm assimilation of satya mithya.

CC: Mind is becoming easier and free of the efforts in some sense, free to call Isvara a knucklehead and bow with the greatest joy and respect for the Lord. Less pushing jiva over the edge, ‘always’ critical about himself for not having – or not being, the ‘perfect’ jnani, like a sort of spiritual illusion playing in the mind. This nonsense is almost completely gone – a mild reflex more than an actual belief/ content. With your help, I remember things you said years ago. 

S: Thank God for that!  If there is any teacher who models that it is ok for the jiva to be imperfect, it is James.  His confidence in the Self renders the jiva truly authentic – even in its obvious imperfection.  As the Self, you will never break dharma – but being true to your nature may seem like you are, especially to others, and to the inner critic.  It is a fine line, because the Advaita shuffle can come into play here.  But if you are truly being authentic and acting true to your nature, self-doubt will not come into play because you will not be breaking dharma. Your peace of mind is undisturbed, even if disturbance temporarily arises. But if the Advaita shuffle is in play, your peace of mind is contrived and not authentic.

CC: The litmus test you speak of – dharma, makes a lot of sense; in that jiva doesn’t always know what is right or wrong. Living in the world, and having been quite harsh on my non-self, for good reasons with not so good methods. That is no longer active, but now the results of that are getting removed. This feels like darshan and actually is the way to clear up after the buts and commas – and so avoids the Advaita shuffle. It is not that deep, or painful at all, but more like ridding excess ‘ideas’ of having to be the perfect renunciate.

Sundari: The last stage of nididhysana involves clearing up the remnants of the teachings, realizing you do not need them anymore because you are the teaching.  There is no conflict with devotion to Isvara as Self and non-different from you and with seeing Isvara as both dharma and adharma. You are comfortable with the paradoxes of mithya because you know that the field operates the way it does because it cannot be any other way.

And of course you know it is only apparently real. This only comes when the doer is fully negated and binding vasanas rendered non-binding, but it does not necessarily mean that your essential character as a jiva changes that much. Unless of course, you had a lot of work to do to improve your jiva character for peace of mind.

CC: And the old grunt-ness towards Isvara; why put this jiva through a material world when it has no wish for it whatsoever? Well.. is it that bad to live a worldly life as well? Not at all. What is the difference really… Jiva and Isvara are different-non-different. These sort of things show themselves as reflexes, not as content, and Isvara with and without voice removes much of it. It said for a few days, like a mantra, ‘I am existence’ – alone. Removing gaps in perceived meanings of the word “self’, subtle things. 

Sundari: Amen. I think most true inquirers go through this.  How can you not, mithya being so tenacious and so hard to make sense of without nondual vision. Yet, Self-knowledge frees the mind to appreciate the beauty that is inherent in the world when it is known to be apparently real. To witness the jiva living a worldly life when fear and desire have been negated and the doer neutralized, can be pretty joyful, despite the zero sum nature of mithya.  It’s essence is love, is you. And that is definitely ‘good’.

CC: All in all, these words sound more like a story than it is, it is more like colours and patterns changing, calming down – technical, material in nature, however subtle and experiential. 

Sundari: Yes, words always fall short in some way because they are mithya.  But we can use words wisely and as accurately as possible to paint the picture of reflected truth.

CC: On prarabdha karma and vasana’s … I had mixed these things, thinking that these are basically the same. But it looks now that Prarabdha is more like the ‘given’ or external circumstance, form or blueprint of jiva’s karma ; the result of previous vasanas ? –  and now playing out until it is exhausted and dies, and vasanas the tendencies active or not so active in the seeming present? 

S:undari: Prarabdha karma is the blueprint for the jiva, but what is the difference between external and internal?  Vasana and prarabdha karma are purely technical terms for the forces of creation which originate in the Causal body. Prarabdha karma and vasanas are both the momentum from a past action, the tendency to repeat something.   Essentially, all vasanas and all karma is just the impersonal playing out of the gunas.  As everything in the apparent reality is a vasana, so is it also karma— eternal and impersonal.  

Vasanas cause karma and karma causes vasanas. It is impossible to say which comes first, vasanas or karma, because they are inseparable. It’s the chicken and the egg story. Vasanas are the seeds—the knowledge—that drives creation.  Anything created by action is karma, and it is impossible to be alive without action.  Actually the gunas precede action as they are macrocosmic forces that cause the world to change. 

But action ‘creates’ the gunas/vasanas too, in the sense that actions done from a particular guna reinforce the tendency, meaning the vasana, for that guna to express itself again as karma.  The vasanas and karma are just two ways of speaking of the same force.  Karma is vasanas manifesting and vasanas are the unmanifest results of karma.  You can say that ignorance appears as vasanas and the vasanas grossify to become karma which in turn ‘subtlelizes’ back into vasanas. 

Though vasanas are usually the result of past actions (prarabdha karma), they can also sprout without any previously known tendency, action, or desire because the seeds for all vasanas are Isvara (Causal body) and therefore exist as potential in everyone. It may seem like ‘our’ vasanas and ‘our’ karma are personal and original, but they are not.  Therefore, all vasanas and all karma are eternal because they originate in the Causal body.  Isvara churns them out over and over because there is really only one eternal Jiva or Subtle body, appearing as many seemingly unique individuals with seemingly unique ‘issues’.

CC: To keep my mind busy – Isvara keeps on putting me in front of Vedanta, while in the world . Gold and crow-shit – ‘talking’ satsangs. 

Sundari: You, as the Self, are Vedanta, so you cannot be put ‘in front of it’ But because you have a highly developed vasana for self-inquiry, Isvara keeps the mind on Vedanta because its orientation is the Self.

CC: Anyway, your answer smooths out mind stuff – from the seeming outside, and I cannot thank Isvara enough. I read more in it then I reflect here. So sadhana is not so much learning/ applying anymore but hanging the mind to dry in the sun. And now all kinds of weaves, details, come to the surface. 

Sundari: Well put! Yes, living as the Self is a lot like ‘putting the mind out to dry’! 

Thank you for staying in touch, it’s really always so good to hear from you

With much love

Sundari

Sundari:  Yes, the body is ‘in’ the mind (Subtle body) in that along with everything else, it can only be experienced there. Without a functioning mind, you would be a vegetable and completely unaware of anything, or you would be six foot under. But even with a fully functioning mind, if you are not thinking about the body, and it is in good health, you are almost unaware that you ‘have’ one.

It is only when we think about the body or it is in ill health that we are acutely aware of it. A body in distress can be such a burden to the mind, making it almost impossible to think clearly, be happy or at peace. Yet the body has the same unreality that the mind has. It is an object known to you, Consciousness.

It is a great gift to be born with a human body as only through that can moksa obtain.  However, it is not strictly true that the mind controls the body. The body (and the mind) belongs to the field and is not actually ‘your’ body. Isvara controls the body and gives us the Subtle and Gross body we get. Nothing belongs to the jiva.  Some people are born strong and healthy, both mentally and physically, and some not. The Subtle and Gross body you are born with are the result of “good or bad” karma and Isvara keeps it going until your prarabdha is exhausted.  

As you probably know, the Subtle Body pervades the Gross body, except for the fingernails and hair, which is why you can cut them without feeling anything. Although the Gross body depends on the mind (Subtle body) and not the other way around, a healthy body which is well taken care of nonetheless makes it much easier for the mind to be peaceful, sattvic. A body sick or in pain affects the Subtle body making peace of mind (sattva) very difficult.

Therefore, taking care of the body is not about the body.  It is about peace of mind in the Subtle body (mind). It is not about longevity for the body, either because how long we live does not equal quality of life. Self-knowledge, particularly guna knowledge and karma yoga, give us the tools we need to manage the mind and therefore, the body.

The important point to understand in the discussion on the body and how it relates to the mind is this: the Gross body does not pervade the Subtle body. The Gross body is a piece of meat. However, even though the Gross Body does not pervade the Subtle Body, it can and does affect it. It’s not a one way street. For example, if the body is severely injured it will result in the death of the person (ego identity), even though the Subtle body does not die but gets subsumed back into the Causal body.

If the Gross Body gets sick, depressed, has a headache or an unhealthy lifestyle making it dull (tamasic) or extroverted (rajasic), we can take actions to remedy this which will affect the Subtle Body resulting in clear, calm, and peaceful (sattvic) mind. It is not easy to do this when the mind is very ill or the body in pain, but sattva is always available.  Self-knowledge makes it possible to manage the gunas for peace of mind regardless of what is going on with the body.

C: I’m reading BKS Iyengars ‘light on the yoga sutras of Patanjali’, 11.36. 

Final sentence ~ “it is not our mind, but the inner voice of our cells which has the power to implement our intentions”  This is confusing. I am planning to attend a talk about this sutra on ‘truth’. This statement appears contradictory. 

Can you explain?

Sundari: To my knowledge, and this statement bears it out, Iyengar was not a jnani and not a qualified teacher of Vedanta. First of all, what is he referring to when he says ‘the inner voice has the power to implement intentions’? Is he referring to Consciousness or Isvara – does he even know what they are, and how the mind (Subtle body/jiva identity) relates to them, the common identity between Isvara and Jiva being Consciousness? I highly doubt it.

It sounds like his statements are purely from the mithya perspective. Unless he is referring to Isvara (again, I doubt it) they imply a doer. Who or what is it that gives the cells the power to implement anything? It is the light of Consciousness that keeps the body going, but Consciousness is not a doer. It is only Isvara that could be called the ‘doer’, if Isvara was a person, which it is not. It is the intelligence of the field that arises from Consciousness that ‘powers’ the body.

If we look at the body/mind from the satya perspective (and remember – to be able to discriminate between the two orders of reality is what matters) the Subtle Body has a similar relationship to the Gross Body as Consciousness has to mithya (the apparent reality).  There is an interdependence from the jiva’s perspective—but not from Consciousness’s point of view because the body and Consciousness exist in different orders of reality: The Subtle body, which contains the Gross body, is mithya or apparently real (not always present and always changing) and Consciousness is satya, real (ever-present and unchanging). 

There is no way to understand this or discriminate Consciousness from the objects that appear in you unless other than to step out of Maya with Self-knowledge. I could be wrong, but it does not seem that Iyengar can do that. Our body does have an innate intelligence because the light of Consciousness shines on and in it, and Isvara controls it. We can manage the mind and therefore influence the body with dharmic lifestyle choices and with Self-knowledge.

I would not rely on any teaching outside of the incontrovertible teachings of Vedanta to resolve any confusion. Only by having solid knowledge of the difference between satya and mithya can you resolve any issue that arises from ignorance.

I hope this helps

Much love

Sundari

I am new to Vedanta and Shiningworld, and am finding what you and James write about with regards to understanding the mind very helpful.  From what I understand so far in my inquiry into Vedanta is that it is on another whole level in comparison to standard psychology. 

Sundari: The nondual teachings of Vedanta are not really on another level as they take you  beyond all levels, to the non-dual perspective of the Self. They cannot be compared with any psychological approach, standard or progressive, because only with Self-knowledge can you step out of duality, or ‘the system’, and understand how the mind and the field it transacts in, from ‘outside’ all levels.

Most psychologists would probably dismiss Vedanta viewing it as quasi-religious because it emphasizes the importance of God. But this is precisely why psychology will never truly address the real issue at the core of everyone’s difficulties – the identification with the doer. There is no way to negate the problematic doer without understanding the true nature of God, and the person, and their common identity as the nondual Self or Consciousness. 

The purpose of the means of knowledge Vedanta provides is to negate duality – revealing that the person and the world are only apparently, no actually, real. Meaning they are that which is always changing and not always present. But to do that, you must understand objectively what the person and the world are, not just from a scientific, psychological or spiritual viewpoint, which are all in duality. From the viewpoint of the one factor that can never be negated, is always present, and is not ‘in’ duality: Consciousness.  Taking Consciousness to be your true identity may sound simple, but negating the hypnosis of duality is the hard part.

Sue: Though I have found therapy helpful in some ways, it did not help me to find what I was looking for, or even approach knowing what that actually is.

Sundari: What everyone is searching for, whether they know it or not, is what they already have: the Self/Consciousness, that which is unborn and cannot die. The problem is that the hypnosis of duality (Maya) deludes the mind into thinking this can be obtained in some way or other. But you cannot gain what you already have.  You only have ignorance of who you truly are, which is what is in the way of Self-knowledge, removed. For that, you need a means of knowledge capable of explaining and truly objectifying the mind, which therapy, religion and science, cannot do.

Vedanta recommends therapy as a means to address the person’s major psychological baggage.  But the best case scenario is that this only takes you to the door of self-inquiry, no further.  Therapy  helps to develop the qualifications required for self-inquiry, (which are well explained and unfolded in many of the texts and writing on our website) but it is in no way equal to self-inquiry. Make sure you understand the methodology of Vedanta – it is a progressive teaching for very good reason.

If you get to that doorway of self-inquiry and are lucky enough to have found Vedanta and a qualified teacher, chances are you have developed one of the major qualifications required for self-inquiry to produce Self-knowledge: the understanding that there are no real solutions in the world, that there is nothing to gain in life, that it is a zero sum.  While that may sound rather bleak, it is far from it.  It is the clarion call that you are ready to step out of the world, and to objectify your mind with its typical thinking/emotional /feeling patterns.

Sue: Thank you for that, I am trying to digest and understand what is required of me to sign on the program, so to speak.  I think I understand the difference between emotions and feelings having been subjected to much therapy.  But could you explain it to me, from the Vedanta perspective:

Sundari: A quick AI search would give you this answer: Emotions are the immediate, usually unconscious, instinctual, and often physical reactions to a trigger. Feelings are usually conscious mental and physical sensations that arise as you process and give meaning to those emotions, and are shaped by personal experiences and thoughts. In other words, your  subjective experience and interpretation of emotions.

This is a good explanation. To unpack this from the Vedanta perspective:

Emotions are sub-cognitive thinking/feeling patterns, called vasanas or samskaras, which are running in the background and giving rise to how you respond to your life experiences. Meaning, how you ‘feel’ about what is happening to you or in you, and how you respond to what life presents to you. You may or may not be in touch with or able to manage your feelings, depending how mature the mind is.

Emotions and feelings are inextricably linked. To know what needs to be addressed in the unconscious, one simply has to be objective about how you feel about anything, particularly when the mind is triggered. This can be in negative or positive ways.  What gets to you and what makes you happy? This is a basic way to understand your personality and your conditioning.

This is why psychologists always ask ‘how does that make you feel?” While they are on the right track, they cannot give you what you really need beyond being able to identify your triggers. While the first step to healing is to understand how and why your mind works the way it does, that will only help you as a person to live a reasonably more sane life.  It will not free you of the limitation of identification with the mind/doer, which is the real problem.

Known or unknown, the pain everyone experiences is the limitation of thinking you are a person, and you need something from life to make you whole or happy. As stated, for freedom from limitation, you need to develop the qualifications for Self-knowledge to obtain, to truly understand and objectify the mind, what conditions it and why. 

There is much guidance on our website for how to proceed with self-inquiry, the importance of understanding the terminology and all the foundational teachings.  Vedanta is extremely subtle, and you need to be properly taught as you cannot read your way to freedom from limitation.  You need guidance to stay on track, and we are very happy to help you on your journey

Much love

Sundari

ShiningWorld.com