James Swartz – Vedanta, Ishvara and the importance of devotional practices – Talk 14

Vedanta: means of knowledge based on the upanisads or knowledge that ends the quest for knowledge.

Modern advaita teachers and qualifications. Arguments from satya viewpoint and from the mithya viewpoint. Example of Ramana Maharshi, his spiritual experience and the knowledge he got from it. Knowledge is the only way to get free because I am already free. But I am ignorant of this fact. You know you exist and that you are conscious. But you don‘t know that you are limitless and free. Vedanta helps you to remove the notion that you are incomplete. The scriptures reveal something to you that you already know. Swami Chinmayananda: gurus are temporary psychological aide.

Verse 36: One achieves devotion by worshiping the Lord ceaselessly. Every action becomes a worship if you offer it to the Lord. Be a caretaker of all the things borrowed by the Lord.

Verse 37: One achieves devotion by hearing and talking about the Supreme Lord’s special qualities, in every relationship. Avoid gossip. The world is a shining reflection of the Lord‘s glory. Go back to the source whenever you see an object. Isvara is both the intelligence and the matter for the creation. Everything is Isvaras body. Two creation teachings: projection teaching and cause and effect teaching. Mandukya Upanishad. Location of objects teaching. You love love. We have to know that objects are love even though they don‘t look like love. You should question what you see and look deeper.

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James Swartz – Karma and Karma Yoga – Talk 5

3. Formal devotion. What is karma? Prarabdha, sanchita and
agami karma. Karma is similar to a bank account. 3
possibilities: add karma, exhaust karma or stay the same.
People with little karma become sannyasi. Karma Yoga means
how to relate to your karma. Neutralise your karma to have a
steady mind. Gunas, mind and karma. Deities are Vedas in
code. Rishis show you who Isvara is. The love for myself
depends on whether I am handling the karma properly. You
are the witness of karma. The I has no karma. All karmas are
created by Isvara. Isvara or God: creator, upholder or dharma,
giver of results. Isvara is in charge of the results. The principle
to hand out results to jivas are the needs of the total. Isvaras
versus jivas mind. Karma is hard to understand: I want results
and I am not sure if I get it. Karma Yoga is acting like an
enlightened person: offering the actions as a worship to Isvara
as the giver of results. Isvara gave you your life as a gift.
Karma Yoga is love of God. This attitude during action reduces
karma. Giving instead of grabbing. Your whole life is an altar.
It is normal to do good things with love. Accept the good and
bad results with an attitude of gratitude.

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Intuition of Reality – Vedanta Talk 14 by Ira Schepetin

Discussion of the three states. The beauty of Vedānta is that it is based on common experience, not on mystical experience. Pūrṇa anubhava. 2 experiences: being aware of something or being not aware of anything. The states are not in the world. The states are not in time. Avyakta and deep sleep. Dream and waking are both private. Are you the
witness of the dream and the waking state? You are not in time because time is in the states. Is sleep the self? The Bhagavad Gītā has not to be studied sequentially.
Deliberate superimposition Bhagavad Gītā ch. 13, 13. īśvara and māyā. The world is imagined by ignorance. Ramanuja.

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