Contemplations
Vedanta: The Way Of Wisdom
An Invaluable Guide to Happiness and Success
Vedanta is one of the world's oldest and most comprehensive spiritual philosophies. It is based upon the Vedas, or sacred scriptures of India and underlies the principles of Yoga, Ayurveda, and Hinduism. The word “Vedanta” has two parts, Veda, which means knowledge, and anta, which means the end or goal of.. It applies to the Upanishads, which were elaborations of the Vedas, and to the school that arose out of the study (mimamsa) of the Upanishads.
The Vedas are considered to be one of the most sacred scriptures of the Hindu religion. They are claimed to be among the world's oldest scriptures. Veda is said to be the treasure vault to wisdom and knowledge.
The primary message of the Upanishads urges us to dedicate ourselves in a way that we can always experience our best moments. They want us to be in a state of being where we feel – to the core of our beings – that place of connection between the small and the large.
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But the Path is steep and desire for obtaining a higher quality of life and consciousness must be present. To gain knowledge from Vedanta, it is vital that we expose ourselves regularly to the information either by reading books or listening to discourse on Vedanta. This is a vital step and is like feeding our mind with thoughts.
The knowledge has to sink from the conscious level to deeper levels of self. In the deeper level the unconscious is activated and helps in putting the gained knowledge into practice.
The following are my reflections or direct passages and interpretations of these powerful teachings…Always remember, the course is steep but "enjoy the journey" of this present moment practice.
Reflections on the Bhagavad Gita ...
2:51 “Those who have mastered their thoughts escape the confines of the mind and become engrossed in cosmic wisdom. They become freed from the chains of the ego and attain that state which transcends all suffering.”
Fear is born of the thought of failure when one is attached to success. We always feel “if we do these things, we will be better people, more successful, or be happy, and think these “things” are necessary for us to do…then comes anger or anxiety, which is born of frustrated desire. The centered state is beyond all ego centered emotions.
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As the scriptures teach us, even when the wise person, in order to sustain his existence, engages in outward activity and is thus in a sense, in the world, he is not OF it…He remains the witness self….for the world then no longer defines his reality…. in other words, the ego is not ruling our feelings and desires.
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Mistakes on the path are always possible. As a practitioner of yoga, we should acknowledge them sincerely and openly to ourselves. The Yogi should avoid the further mistake of becoming upset with her/himself. Since the ego is a delusion, anything that tempts it to affirm its own separate reality is a delusion also, and so too, is any distress one may feel with oneself for having succumbed to delusion.
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For me, the key meaning of this is to first ask yourself “Do I like suffering?” Next you should ask “What lessens it?” Paramhansa Yogananda tells us that suffering diminishes when there is a decrease of self-interest. The discernment of this truth leads to the first faint stirrings that a reality exists that is more than the ego and body.
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Key point: From acceptance of what is, comes a gradual decrease to the attachments to things, thoughts, or behaviors. From lessened attachment comes lessening interest in the objects of the senses, and an increase of longing for true wisdom and a life that is more at peace. Then the heart will begin to open and with feeling and living the truth, the seeker will begin to know happiness.
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So I encourage all of you to practice yoga beyond the asanas, remembering that yoga is the path of discrimination and is an experiential path. A path which we can practice everyday…trying new things and discarding those things that do not honor our truth. Although there are many paths, one of the ways to begin, is to revisit and practice the Yamas and Niyamas….Enjoy the journey!