Religion & Spirituality
Verses: II.7, II.8, II.6. This discourse was given on August 2, 2019 at the Lake Tahoe Retreat run by the Vedanta Society of Northern California by Swami Tattwamayananda.-asat in the context of Verse II.7 means avyakrta, the state before differentiation into name and form. -Four forms of abhava, non-existence, from Nyaya philosophy are explained.-Spiritual life is a journey from many to one. When we no longer feel difference, there is no fear and we experience Ananda in the cave of the heart.-Three examples of saints who had experienced this oneness from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna are given. Some saints keep some ego of the teacher in order to teach mankind.-Without this Ananda, our life is driven by fear. -Shankaracharya says that those who take diversity to be the ultimate principle fight with each other but the Advaitin does not have a quarrel with anybody. -Verse II.8 explains that there is an invisible regulator, sakshi, that is aware and not involved but regulates the whole universe’s mutual coherence.-Verse II.6 explains creation in terms of a creator that has no desire to create because he is already perfect. After creation, he entered into creation and became one with it. -At the experience level, advaitins experience that Brahman exists in everything, and everything exists in Brahman. -The highest devotee, according to the Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad Gita Verse 12.8 sees God in everything and everything in God. -It is this experience of Ananda that grants Abhayam, complete fearlessness. Without it, our life is often driven by the fear of the loss of things that are inherently impermanent and changing.-Fear and anxiety can inspire us to work with a higher motive, this is not a negative feeling of wretchedness but there is joy in a higher pursuit. Buddha’s life is an example.-Asat as referred to in the Chandogya Upanishad should be understood in a different way than in Verse II.7, as it is brought up only to be refuted.-There is an inherent system in the universe which goes beyond himsa and ahimsa. The Bhagavad Gita gives a balanced picture of spirituality. -Vedanta does not propose that the world can be made perfect. A reply is given to a question from an agnostic.