Hindu Temple

Tenth Annual Multifaith Symposium

SelfKnowledge
in Spiritual
Growth

May 9, 2015

Presenter: Paul H. March, BA; BSW; RSW.

With Special Thanks and Acknowledgement to
Tom Murthy , Vipin and Meena Acharya for
Gracious Help and Assistance.

OPENING PRAYER

Sahanavavatu (Peace) Mantra

Om Saha nav-avatu

Om, May God protect us both,

(speaker and audience),

Saha nau bhunaktu

May God nourish us both,
Saha viiryam karavaavahai
May we work together with
energy and vigour,
Tejasvi nau-adhiitam-astu maa
vidvishaavahai

May our study be enlightening

and not give rise to hostility,

Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih

Om, Peace, Peace, Peace.

INTRODUCTION

Hinduism
Hinduism is the world's oldest religion
having more than a billion adherents,
making it the world's third largest religion.
Hinduism is a collection of religious,
philosophical and cultural ideas and
practices that originated in India,
characterized by the belief in
reincarnation, one absolute being of
multiple manifestations, the law of cause
and effect, following the path of
righteousness, and the desire for liberation
from the cycle of births and deaths.

Vedanta
Vedanta represents the philosophical portion of the
ancient scriptures of India,
the Vedas. Specifically, it
refers to the final portion of
the Vedic literature, the
Upanishads, but it also
includes the Bhagavad Gita,
the great epics of India, as
well as the Puranas, as well as
many other texts, hymns, and
writings.

The basic teaching of Vedanta concerns the ultimate

identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.
The most fundamental teaching in Vedanta
is that all that exists is divine.
Thus every human being is
innately divine. And the ultimate
goal of life is to manifest this
inherent divinity.
Divinity is equally present everywhere, but not equally
manifest everywhere. So far as human beings are
concerned, divinity is most manifest in a spiritually
illumined soul, for example, Gurudev Chinmayananda
and Shri Guru Mata Ji, (Sushila Thakar).

4 PREPARATIONS FOR
ATTAINING SELFKNOWLEDGE

How are we to make ourselves fitting containers

to receive universal forces?
The ways and means of making ourselves fit for
the reception of divine grace and for the entry
of universal forces are traditionally known as
Sadhana Chatushtaya, a fourfold discipline of
ones own self. Certain qualities have to be
developed.
Adi Shankara, in the Vivekachudamini, outlines
these qualities as follows:

FIRST PREPARATION
VIVEKA
Viveka is discrimination between the real and
the unreal, between the permanent and the
impermanent, between the Self and the nonSelf. Viveka dawns in a man through the Grace
of God.

SECOND
PREPARATION
VAIRAGYA

THIRD PREPARATION
SHAD-SAMPATTI, (THE SIXFOLD VIRTUE)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Sama is serenity and equanimity of mind. It is brought about through

the eradication of desires.
Dama is rational control of the senses. It is bringing the sense organs
under control.
Uparati is satiety; it is turning the mind away from desire for sensual
enjoyment. It is withdrawal and quietude.
Titiksha is the power of forbearance and endurance.
Sraddha is intense faith in the word of the Guru, in Vedantic scriptures
and, above all, in one's own self.
Samadhana is fixing the mind on Brahman or the Self, without allowing
it to run towards objects. It releases the mind from anxiety amid pains
and troubles.

FOURTH PREPARATION
MUMUKSHUTVA
Mumukshutva is intense desire for
liberation or deliverance from the wheel of
births and deaths. If one is equipped with
the previous three qualifications, then the
intense desire for liberation will come
without any difficulty. The mind moves
towards the Source of its own accord when
it has lost its charm for external objects.
When purification of mind and mental
discipline are achieved, the longing for
liberation dawns by itself.

MAYA, IGNORANCE,
SUPERIMPOSITION AND
MISAPPREHENSION

MAYA
When the work of selfpreparation is achieved, one is
equipped to face maya,
ignorance, superimposition
and misapprehension.
In this world, people take
what is unreal, that which is
not, to be real. They take
what is real to be unreal.

SUPERIMPOSITION
Ignorance is rooted in
superimposition, (snake and
rope). The mind misapprehends
the rope and takes it for being a
snake. The misapprehension is
ignorance of the reality.

MISAPPREHENSION
Attributes do not and cannot define
our being. Misapprehension occurs
in our illusory separate lives when
we mistake our true nature for
concepts about what we are.
People mistakenly believe that
attributes like gender, nationality,
occupation, and so on, define their
Reality. This is a misapprehension.
Our Reality, our Being is not
touched by the attributes we
mistakenly take ourselves to be.

DISTURBING THE MIND

SAMSKARA
Samkaras are subtle imprints (impressions) that are made in the mindstuff (chitta) whenever we do actions (consciously). Impressions are not
memories. Memories are formed from impressions just like a
photograph is developed from a negative. Generally, we only retain
memories from recent impressions. Yet, we have countless impressions
(samskaras) from many, many lives. Most of these impressions no
longer have memories associated with them. In other words, the
impressions (samskaras) from many, many lifetimes are affecting us but
we do not generally know how or why they affect us because we have
no recollection of the actions that caused the impressions.

VASANA
The effect of a samskara is called a vasana.
Vasanas are tendencies.
In other words, vasanas are the inclinations formed from our
impressions (samskaras).
They are mental urges, desires, and feelings.
Unlike samskaras, the vasanas (tendencies) are readily identifiable.

VRITTI
Our tendencies (vasanas) create thought patterns (vrittis) in the mind.
In other words, our thinking becomes motivated by our tendencies.
We think to support our feelings (desires, urges, etc.).
These thinking patterns form our attitudes and mental disposition.

KARMA
Finally, our thinking patterns (vrittis) leads to action.
In other words, we act (karma) because our mind tells us (vritti) to act,
because that is how we will satisfy our desire (vasana) which arose from
the impression (samskara) made in the mind from an earlier action.

Happiness does not reside in objects but in a calm mind

When
there is
desire in
the mind,
there is
anxiety
about
whether
the desired
object will
be attained
or not. In
such a
condition
there can
be no
happiness.

Happiness Does Not Reside In

Objects But In A Calm Mind
But as soon as the desired object is
attained, the mind becomes calm. The
happiness experienced is wrongly
attributed to the attributes of the
desired object, while it is really due to
the mind becoming calm. This
happiness continues only until another
desire arises and agitates the mind.

BEING ABSORBED INTO THE LIGHT

Self Knowledge in
Spiritual Growth
If the mind becomes introverted
through enquiry into the Source . . .
the mind, also disappears being
absorbed into the Light of the one
Reality, the Heart.
Maharshi's Gospel, Book 2. Chapter 6.

Closing Prayer
Om Sarve bhavantu sukhinah

Om, May all become happy,

Sarve santu nir-aamayaah

May all be free from illness.

Sarve bhadraanni pashyantu

May all see what is auspicious,

Maa kashcid-duhkha-bhaag-bhavet

May no one suffer.

Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih

Om Peace, Peace, Peace.