Swadhyay (Self-Effort) And Sadhana (Spiritual Practice)

In this talk, Ektaji discusses spiritual knowledge and explains the importance of the application of this knowledge to help us manage our minds. She moves on to Swadhyay (self-study - application of the knowledge) and Sadhana (spiritual practices) and their importance on this spiritual journey.

Transcript

How many of you did after a very long time?

You all have regular kriyas happening in Shomburg,

Right?

Go go,

Go there na.

See the state of your mind.

Is it like this?

What is all this?

A cloudy sky with lots of thoughts,

Lots of emotions.

That's how our mind is,

No?

Sometimes.

Always lost in emotion,

Always lost in thought.

So what are these?

Who wants to read out a few?

Aversion,

Anger,

Likes,

Dislikes and craving greed.

What else do you see there?

There will still be a rational thought.

Have you noticed?

There will be lots of emotions,

A cloud of emotions bothering you.

Thoughts are related to emotion,

You know this,

Right?

Every thought is what?

I like this.

She did this to me and this was right.

Now that translates into an emotion,

Happy.

He did wrong with me.

He should have not said this.

Translates into an emotion,

Unhappy.

Are you seeing this?

Every thought will translate into an emotion.

That's why the mind is cloudy with clouds of all these emotions.

I like this,

I don't like this.

This is good for me,

This is bad for me.

He should have not said this.

When you are lost in a cloudy state like this,

Can you really take a good decision?

Is your mind clear enough to be productive,

To be successful?

And most of the times we operate from this kind of a mind,

Right?

It's very easy to come once a week,

Sit with your eyes closed,

Meditate.

But what about the rest of the days?

What about when I'm in office?

What about when I'm with my family at home and I'm dealing with family issues?

What about social,

Even in the social circle there are issues.

That is where jnana helps you,

Knowledge.

You see this?

Now just listening to Guruji talking,

Is that jnana?

Is that good enough?

Applying this to myself,

Recognising,

Oh I have these clouds of emotion.

Now how do I reach to this rational thought that is buried under all these emotions?

There is a rational thought.

I'm not an idiot.

It is there.

It's just buried deep down under all the emotions and I cannot think clearly right now.

So what is the job of jnana?

It sharpens your intellect and then through that you can dodge all the obstacles and reach the rational thought.

Yes?

But if you just listen to jnana,

Is this process going to happen?

This process of dodging through the emotion requires self-exertion from my side,

Digging deep into my own mind.

Digging deep into all the emotions,

All the dust sitting over there.

Looking at my ego also.

When my ego comes in the way,

He says I want this.

No I don't like this.

Memory brings up a past incident of what he or she did.

So here this complex is mind,

Intellect,

Memory and ego together.

All these four create these clouds.

Intellect creates that rational thought.

And how does the intellect get sharpened?

Through the knowledge,

Through the spiritual knowledge.

So this intellect can be sharpened only through application of the mind.

So somebody asked me,

You know,

I have been listening to knowledge for so many years,

15 years,

I have done all this,

Ashtavakra,

Gita,

Patanjali,

Narada,

Everything that Guruji has talked about.

I have listened to all the tapes.

They have the old fashioned tapes,

You play in this tape recorder.

Those talks also that person has.

But it's not becoming a part of me.

Where am I lacking?

You tell me,

Where is that person lacking?

Not applying the knowledge.

And what is the application,

What is the meaning of that?

It means following what is before.

Guruji gives you many techniques.

For example,

If we start Ashtavakra Gita,

There is a lesson just on storm of emotions.

All these emotions that come up,

How do I deal with it?

He actually gives you a five point rule.

Every time there's a storm,

Step number one,

Do this.

Step number two,

Do this.

Step number three,

This.

That doesn't work,

Go to step four.

That doesn't work,

Go to step five.

But if I just listen and clap and come back home,

Wow!

Guruji gave fantastic five principles.

And when I'm in the storm,

I don't apply it,

Then you see what it is.

Application of this knowledge is very essential,

Extremely essential.

And that is why in all these knowledge sessions we give you homework.

Have you been writing the homework and sending it?

Just did the knowledge like that only,

No?

The homework is the actual application.

That is required.

Taking the exam is an actual application.

Nobody is grading you.

Did you get any grades or marks or scores for your exam?

No no.

But didn't it benefit you?

Wasn't that process of going through all your emotions and finding that rational thought?

This is what exams do.

This is what homework does to you.

You are actually navigating through a maze of emotions and finding that rationality with which you can lead life successfully and happily.

Now you know why exam,

Why attendance,

Why we are so strict about attendance?

If you don't attend,

How will you get the flow from one to two,

Two to three,

Three to four?

So that is why strictness,

Discipline is required.

For some time I become your mother.

But how long can I hold the bicycle for you?

Only some time,

No?

I have to let go.

Some day you have to learn to balance and ride the cycle on your own.

I cannot hold you forever.

So this entire attempt of attendance and exams and making you go through this knowledge and you someday feel I don't want to do this homework,

I don't want to give this exam.

But it is for your own good.

I don't get anything from you submitting exams or not.

I don't get anything from you following the discipline or not.

It is for your growth.

One day you learn to balance the bicycle on your own and you can keep moving.

And this entire process of the intellect going through the maze and finding that rational thought,

Every moment,

Moment to moment to moment to moment,

Even if I am in a fight with a family member or somebody,

Some friend,

Being able to find that rational thought and speak only rationally and think only rationally,

Letting go of extra emotions.

This process is called Swadhiya.

What is Swadhiya?

Swa my own self.

Dhyaayi.

What is Dhyaana?

What is Dhyaana?

Meditation.

Meditation.

What is the meaning of it?

Focus.

Go within.

Going within.

Swa Dhyaayi is going within my own self.

Usually when we have problems in life,

We are always outside.

Oh he said this to me.

Jitesh is like that.

I never think that why he said that to me only.

You see?

That happened.

That person did something to that person.

Oh they are like this only.

I am always focusing outside in the world.

I am never inside.

Changing this direction from outside to inside is Swadhiya.

Till you don't do Swadhiya,

It doesn't matter.

You have been 15 years,

20 years listening to knowledge.

You are listening to it like you are listening to music.

It's not going to make any difference.

You might become a pandit.

Might be able to recite it by heart.

But it's no use.

It is your own journey I tell you.

You are alone.

How much ever you think you have your spouse with you,

You have your family or children with you.

It's an illusion.

You are walking the path alone.

It is all about how well you walk this path and how you reach that goal.

There is only one goal and what is the goal of life?

Is it just making babies,

Making money,

Having a career.

That's it.

Is that what is the purpose of life?

That you have been doing repeatedly for lifetime after lifetime after lifetime.

You started as a little mosquito probably.

When you were an ant,

Then you were a butterfly.

Some way then you became a bigger insect.

Some way became a mouse,

Then a cat,

Then a dog.

We have come up the line like this.

Lifetime after lifetime we did the same thing.

Making babies,

Eating food,

Sleeping.

Move from the animal life we came to the human life.

We added some more activities,

Additional activities.

Name,

Fame,

Money,

Run after houses,

Cars,

I don't know,

Diamonds,

What else?

Clothes.

Still it is the same pattern of the mind.

First it was acquiring something else,

Now it is acquiring something else.

But the focus is outside only.

The only purpose of this journey,

Lifetime after lifetime is that day when you stop looking out and you look inward.

Meeting with your own self.

That is what is required.

Have you met your own self?

You always go on a date with somebody outside.

Go on a date with yourself.

And that meeting is called Swatthai.

Or the effort put in that direction to set up that appointment to coax yourself to meet yourself is called Swatthai.

And that is where knowledge helps you.

Got it?

What is Swatthai?

Any questions?

No?

All ready to do Swatthai?

Yes?

So we will start Ashtavakra Gita.

I don't get anything by you starting it or not.

This really talks about these kind of emotions and how to deal with them.

First of all,

Recognize patterns.

I have a pattern of anger with somebody.

I have a pattern of jealousy with a particular person.

And always the same thing happens.

I have a pattern of behavior with my kids or my spouse or my colleagues.

And always the same pattern happens.

Why am I stuck in a pattern?

Because of the cloud of emotions.

And Ashtavakra Gita has 33 chapters.

Each chapter will deal with different different kind of emotions.

Different different kinds of things happening inside.

Mostly it deals with your ego.

That is the biggest obstacle.

Have you realized that?

Eye,

Eye,

Eye.

It's the biggest obstacle.

I have a question.

So you said that we as human beings we have more of animal behavior.

We eat,

We sleep,

We have babies and all.

So that brings us to the conclusion.

So far what we have wasted our lives?

In the next birth how do you remember where to start?

Spiritual knowledge is called Sa Dhanah.

Sa means that which goes with you.

Jus Saath Jata Hai Hindi Sa.

And Dhanah what is Dhan?

The wealth.

Yeah.

Spiritual wealth goes with you.

That is the only wealth that goes with you.

Why?

Because Sa Dhanah sharpens the intellect.

Swadhyaya sharpens the intellect.

When I die this body falls down.

But I don't die really.

I am not the body.

Yeah it's like you've had a car for 30,

40,

50 years.

It's going to die right?

How long can you push it?

One day it's going to give up.

This is just a vehicle.

One day it's going to give up.

Only the body falls.

I don't die.

I move on.

And what is this I?

This complex of mind,

Intellect,

Memory and ego moves on.

Swadhyaya and Sa Dhanah is applicable to this mind,

Intellect,

Memory,

Ego complex.

Correct?

So this goes with you.

So that's why some get inclined to spiritualism earlier in life and some do not realise it for their entire life.

Yeah.

Because you've done something in the past.

All of you are so young here.

Yes?

We did something in the past.

That is why so early in life we got into this path.

So it's fantastic.

Pat yourself on the back.

But now don't make the mistake you probably made in the previous lifetime.

What was the mistake?

I had gaps.

I didn't maintain the continuity of my Swadhyaya.

So maintain the continuity.

Some day that click will happen.

You have to just wait for that click to happen.

It's like falling in love.

Remember the first time you fell in love with that guy or that girl?

That first love.

Even today it brings a smile on your face.

Everybody is smiling.

That click happened.

Did you have to do something for the click to happen?

Could you predict that the click is going to happen with this person only and not with this person?

You don't know.

It's just like falling in love.

That's why you keep doing your Swadhyaya.

Be continuously in knowledge.

Then automatically that click will happen.

That click is falling in love with the self or going within.

That's why I said stop going out on a date with external people.

Go on a date with your own self.

So that's where knowledge helps.

Just listening does not help.

Making notes.

Actually applying it that week.

Guruji spoke about anger and said now I am getting angry.

Can I apply that?

And then you can see your anger coming up and boiling inside and you are feeling all hot and you want to say something out of your anger.

But your intellect says no.

I have got sharpened this week with what Guru Dev said and it goes beyond the anger and picks up that rational thought.

Are you saying what I am saying?

This is the magic of knowledge.

If one week also I have not listened to knowledge or not started thinking about it in depth,

What happens?

This connection is broken.

When I pick up whatever comes from anger,

Whatever comes from hatred,

Whatever comes from like or dislike.

You see what I am saying?

And you have observed it now that some of you have done Patanjali.

Didn't it happen?

The week you skipped,

That week was a little more cloudy with emotions.

So that is why we make it a continuous practice.

Continuous.

Yes?

All up for it?

Reviews

🙏🏼

Namaste Ektaji,
Very nice talk. Could you also share a talk on how to motivate ourselves to be disciplined to meditate.
Regards,
Arpit