A Study of the Bhagavadgita : 54 - Swami Krishnananda.

Chinmaya Mission:    

The abundant grace of the Divine was evident as over 60 seekers gathered on the banks of Mother Ganga in Uttarkashi. 

Swami Abhedananda effortlessly guided participants through the depths and heights of Advaita Vedanta. 

His invigorating and transformative expositions led the campers to complete their study of Chapter Two of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

Attendees absorbed the meditative ambiance of Tapovan Kutir, experienced the serene darshan of Mother Ganga, and participated in the revered tradition of serving saints at the famous Sadhu Bhiksha of Uttarkashi. 

Performing the Paduka Puja of Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananada was a deeply profound and unforgettable experience for all, both regular and new campers alike.

Swamiji unraveled the intricate mantras of the Upanishad, offering seekers a glimpse into Sri Adi Sankara's magnum opus commentary. 

He led listeners on a revelatory journey through key passages, including the dialogue between Ajatashatru and Gargya, the renowned Maitreyi - Yajnavalkya conversation, the unique Madhu analogy, and the deeper meanings of the Vamsha-brāhmana. 

Every aspect was explored to reveal the Upanishads' ultimate declaration: that we, as individual beings, are one with the Divine in essence.

Chinmaya Mission South Africa humbly offers its prostrations to the Guru Parampara and expresses heartfelt gratitude to Pujya Swami Devatmananda, in charge of Tapovan Kutir, Uttarkashi, and the dedicated sevaks who supported the camp. We send our best wishes and prayers for the spiritual well-being of all who attended.

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Sunday 27, October 2024, 06:40.
A Study of the Bhagavadgita:
Chapter 9: The Yoga of Meditation - 4.
Swami Krishnananda
Post-54.

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Each one can judge one's own self as far as the progress that is made in his spirituality. There are many tests. This is one test: Be alone to yourself. For how long can you be alone to yourself – for hours and hours, or for some days? If you can be alone the whole day, from morning until evening – if you do not want to see anybody, and you are the happiest man in the world even if you do not look at anything – if that is the case, it is a great touchstone of your progress. But if you feel miserable after half an hour – the legs are aching, the back is not able to straighten itself, and the mind says to go out and chat with someone – if this is the case, the lower self is controlling you. You are in the lower self only, and the higher Self has not taken possession of you.

The higher Self is an integrated consciousness; the lower self is dissipated, distracted, conditioned. The higher Self is an unconditioned reality; the lower self is a conditioned reality. The Self, as I mentioned, is essentially consciousness in its nature, and therefore it cannot be connected to any object outside. So to the extent the Self, which is consciousness, wants to be connected with something outside which is not consciousness – objects and materials – to that extent the self is not really the Self. It is a conditioned, materialised self, contaminated by tamas and the gunas of Prakriti.

Hence, the Gita's instruction is to raise your lower self with the power of the higher Self, aspiring for a larger inclusiveness of your personality. Do you not think if your dimension of personality increases, you will be happier? If you can find yourself in a larger atmosphere, you will see that the atmosphere somehow also gets adjusted to you. To the extent it is not possible – you seem to be facing a difficulty of adjustment of yourself with the outer atmosphere – problems will sometimes harass to such an extent that they do not seem to be tolerable at all. You do not seem to be having any kind of solution to your difficulties. Everywhere there are problems, one after the other. This is because the lower self is somehow or other struggling to get out of its difficulties by its own instruments and appurtenances, without resorting to the power of the higher Self.

You should never be despondent and regard yourself as incapable. One of the conditions of success in meditation is confidence in oneself, not diffidence. You should never sit for meditation with the feeling that perhaps nothing will come. If you have already decided that, then really nothing will come. What you think you are, you really are. Why should you be despondent? You should not go to the examination hall with the feeling that you are not going to succeed. What is the good of going, then? You are going to succeed. That is why you take the exam.

In a similar way, sit for meditation with the feeling that tomorrow all shall be well, and all requirements of meditation should be at your fingertips. If there is any frustration in the mind, emotional disturbance, sorrow that is gnawing into your vitals, you should not sit for meditation at that time. The lower self, of course, is raised by the higher Self, it is true; but if the lower self is in agony, if it is sick or diseased, at that time you cannot bring the force of impact of the higher Self upon it. The disease has to be cured, first of all, as a patient has to follow a certain regimentation when treated in a hospital. You do not thrust medicine into his body immediately, it is given later on; and so the lower self has to be treated.

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Continued

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