Carla: Please do another satsang next weekend. Really good tonight to get so much subtle clarity. Thanks for the email today as well. I was in an upset for the last 24 hours which have gone but helpful to watch the rajas as sattva is so seductive, as you said a golden cage
Sundari: Thank you so much for your kind feedback, much appreciated! I will do another satsang next Sunday and continue the topic. Guna management comes down to observing the play of the gunas on the mind and not identifying with it. There is usually not a whole lot we can do about whichever guna is dominant, but the act of observation immediately objectifies the predictable thoughts/emotions that come with rajas and tamas, and aligns us with sattva, peace of mind. It is the pesky identification with the gunas that hijacks the mind and all discrimination, making so much drama for the poor jiva! As you say, even identifying with sattva causes problems, as I pointed out in my last email to you.
G: It was also interesting hearing you talk about Karma yoga last night and my reflections on that awful situation with my sister. That was when karma yoga really helped, and the Gita informed me of the path. Your guidance was so helpful and timely, I didn’t want to do what I had to do, but I did it anyway I knew I had to, such a teaching and I also left the results of my action up to Isvara (a big leap of faith as it was so new to me then) but now I am so much more peaceful as I had to face it head on for 5 years. If I had not done some really difficult interventions, I would still be moaning about it and not doing action that the situation called for. If you want to use it as an example for anyone, I am up for it.
Sundari: The situation with your sister was a really good example of how life-changing these teachings are for the jiva. Giving up the fight with her and letting her have her way must have been very hard for you as it was seemingly so unfair. I admired you for doing so, it took guts. Long live peace of mind, there is nothing that is worth sacrificing it. Karma yoga and guna yoga are powerfully applicable, and they work, even if Self-knowledge is not firm. Therefore, we emphasize over and over how important it is for the teachings to translate into the jivas’ life. Good for you.
G: Re John who was so rude to Ramji last week. It was shocking but I just thought he had mental health issues which you both knew about. His language was hard to hear so I thought Ramji was amazing to handle him as he did.
Sundari: Yes, he was incredibly rude. We had many people write in who were horrified by his uncivilized and ignorant outburst. But the amazing thing was that he was oblivious to it. I don’t know if he has mental health problems, other than ignorance, of course! It is not his fault, he could not help it, it was all unconscious Causal body stuff. This a typical example of rajas hijacking a very tamasic mind. Also a typical example of someone ‘on the path’ and dedicated to reading the scripture, but who has never developed the necessary qualifications, cleaned up the sewer of the unconscious, or assimilated the meaning of the scripture despite having read all the books.
The unconscious stuff in the Causal body will out sooner or later, it is never pleasant when it does, and it sure did for him. Strangely he was as shocked as everyone else and has been extremely apologetic. Ramji has posted two satsangs with him online, you should read them. The first is called To Troll or Not to Troll, the second is the same title, part 2. Great teaching, Isvara works in wondrous ways.
With much love
Sundari
