Awaken From The Trance: Radiance Sutras Verse 102

During this session, we discuss Verse 102 of the Yukti Verses from the 'Radiance Sutras', a translation of the Vijanana Bhairava Tantra by Lorin Loche. A meditation follows our discussion.
These sessions are recorded on a weekly basis and all are welcome.

Transcript

But today we are reading from the Radiant Sutras which is a beautiful book by Lauren Roche and it's a translation of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra and the goal of this book is to give us short meditations, Short ideas that we can take into our lives and then live, Just live in life in a very very different way. It's almost like you can you can take a teaching and you can write about it, You can philosophize about it, But it isn't until you actually take it into life that we actually understand it. So this book is a series of small sutras, Small slokas or small verses where we read them, We ponder them and then we take them out into the world and we have a different experience. And this is one of the great challenges is that if you imagine that yourself, That you have the life you live, The drama, The soap opera, The ups, The downs, Everything that we live in this three-dimensional world, But then inside of you is an eternal self. Some say that it predominantly lives perhaps behind the heart in the heart chakra or that's where we access it or that's where we feel it or something like that. I'm sure it's all of us. And in Tantra they might call this the Atman, The center of who you are, The self with a big S and that that self is eternal. It's ever the same, It doesn't change, No matter whether we are young or old or married or divorced or single, You know, Whether it's winter or summer, We are the same. And so this is the goal of Tantra, Is to live in a way that we are fully engaged in the world and we remember that we are also this eternal being. And it gives the most incredible, Almost a breadth of experience. When you're absolutely so frustrated, You know, You get all deep into the frustration and then some little part of you remembers, This is just a dip in life. All things go back up. And what it does is it doesn't change the frustration, It doesn't change the experience, But it's like it calms the emotional body, It calms the stress so that you can actually think straight and make a new choice to shift what's going on. It's very practical, It's not just a theory. So today we are reading number 102. We are quite late in the readings, But even if you're brand new, We can jump in anywhere, So it's all good. So let's close our eyes, Just breathe deeply, Just feel into that place within you that is still. Let's listen from that place. It's always the same, Barbarians and blockheads, Rival queens and kings. The drama rolls on and on. When people honor you, You are supposed to feel honored. When you don't get respect, They expect you to sulk in indignation. One minute you are cruising on a throne in the sky, The next you are standing on some bleak patch of dirt. I say the sun regards all with a steady eye. The force sustaining earth and sky calls everyone to awaken from this trance. This whole world revolves around an axis and I am that. When you are friends with the friend to all beings, Nothing is the same. Rich beyond measure, Abundant beyond counting, You can move through this life laughing. Opinions of others have no rulership over you. What rises in you when you hear that? Or what words or thoughts? Or where does that take you? I would love to know. Is there anything in there that stands out for you? Either as something curious or as something wonderful. So beautiful. Free love. Freeing, No more hiding from judgment. Calls everyone to awaken from the trance. That really spoke to me. From duality to non-duality. Less fear, More equanimity. Let go of the story. Calls everyone to awake from the trance. Standing in my own truth. Rich beyond measure, Abundant without counting. Deep joy which resides in experiencing satya. Lovely. How does the Atman relate to the inner child? I'll come back to that. Thanks, Victor. Freedom from the dramas of kings or indignation or anything else. It reminded me of how sometimes people put us on a pedestal and they think we're great and then something happens and they no longer want you up there. Opinions of others have no rulership over you. I can fall into old habits of being judgmental of others. That last line strikes me as saying that those feelings of being judgmental don't have power over me. That I can let them go. The Atman and the inner child are different. The inner child is like, Imagine here we are, We're born and this seed opens into this pure little being and in a perfect world that inner child would be nurtured. It's almost like the seedling of a great tree and if that seedling is given proper sunlight, Proper air, Proper nutrition, It will grow into a great tree and it will never think about itself as a sapling. But unfortunately for many, Many, Many people that inner child didn't get enough sun and space and nutrition and love and so the inner child didn't progress. It's almost like that sapling was under a shade and it never actually grew. Maybe parts of it grew, Maybe it became a very thick stock, A thick trunk, But it didn't grow into its true magnificence. And so then we have to look at, Well what happened in those early stages of growth? Because a human being is a lot like, You know when we look at, Wow I'm trying to go back to biology classes, You know when they talk of an insect and it has its pupa, Pupa, Larva, But see I can't remember, It's been too long, But you know it has these different stages and each stage is really important. And if something goes amok in that stage, The likelihood is in nature it wouldn't, It wouldn't survive. But as humans we do, We end up, If the pupa gets twisted, The larva stage is twisted and everything's a little twisted, Which is why as an adult being, Once we kind of realize that, Wait a minute, This twist isn't normal, What's going on? We track it back to that beginning point and say, Can I change this? Can I give the sapling sunlight? Can I give the sapling the nutrition it didn't get? So that it can then continue its growth. So the inner child is part of the human growth, It's part of the the world. The Atman is our divine self. It's almost like there is the great Brahman, They call it, Or the great God, Or the great quantum field, The great consciousness, Whatever we understand that to be. And in Tantra, In Tantric philosophy, We are all that already, Like that is actually the truth. Every single one of us is part of that. But in order to be in duality, We have to take on an ego. We live in this place called Maya, Which sometimes they call a veil, A concealment, Whatever, That we sort of take all of that Brahman Godhead, And we bring it down into this individual form. And each one of us has a beautiful individual form. And this is why every one of us is so perfect. Every one of us is simply Brahman, Or Shiva or God, However you understand that just a word, Is simply Brahman, Having a unique human experience. And it doesn't matter what the experience is, It doesn't even matter whether it's a sad experience, Or a happy experience, Or a successful experience, Or a tragic experience, Or you're a tall experience, Or a short experience, Or a fat, Or a thin, It doesn't matter. We're all just Brahman in different forms. The form is irrelevant. It just gives us a different experience. But what is similar amongst all of us is this Atman. This is our connection to the whole. So this is this pure light, The pure self, This is our portal into the whole. And so, And this is, It's actually very significant for this particular sutra. So I'm really glad you asked. Because what this sutra is saying is, You know, As we're, As we grow up, We get really caught up in the illusion of life. And I don't mean the illusion like this world isn't real. Tantra believes that this world is real. We are part of maya, Which is basically divine energy appearing physical. And that's awesome. This is great. And then within that duality, Within that 3d world, There's this entire world that's created in our brain. It's like our mind creates all the dramas in our life. You know, Whether I like that guy, Or I don't like that guy, Or I hate this job, Or I love that job, Or I hate that person, I don't like that person. And that person doesn't like me. Oh, Like, No, That's no fair. Well, That person really likes me. So that means I'm lovable. It means I'm pretty. It means this, You know, This is all made up in our head. None of it's real. If that other aspect of Brahman says, I don't like your gray shirt. All it's telling me is that that particular incarnation of God doesn't like gray shirts. It has nothing to do with me. It has nothing to do with this Atman. Maybe that person and I, We don't really get along. The personalities we were born into, We rub against each other like cacti or something, Right? So we don't hang out. That's all. It doesn't mean there's something wrong with me as a cactus. It's just, We aren't meant to be together on this earth. It has nothing to do with me and it has nothing to do with them. All this stuff, Because what happens is I don't like that particular cactus. And then I'm like, Well, You know what? It's because he's red and he's got purple flowers and purple flowers don't go with red. That's dumb. We develop all these opinions about all the other beings, But this is all created in our head. This is all writing a script for our lives. You know, It was funny on the weekend we were talking about my partner and I were talking about relationships and I had gotten really triggered about something and he says, So what's really going on? And I said to him, I said, Can I just rant for a minute? He said, Sure. And I just let her go. And I told him, I said, This isn't about you. Just to really get that this is my, My pain inside. Maybe it's my mother's pain, My grandmother's pain. Maybe it's the pain of society, But I just really want to let it all out. And essentially the pain was all around, It was about being a woman and it was about sort of the pain of that, The pain of rejection, The pain of, Of the things I've done in the past in relationships and then it not being received or it being shamed or whatever, Things like that. And then, You know, A couple of hours went by and we were out having breakfast and we were talking about this idea that can someone actually do something to me? And we can, We can find extremes like this, But what was really interesting is as I recounted all the stories I had said in that rant all the times I had been wronged, I said, Who really wronged me? I did because I actually denied my own truth for the sake of the story, For the sake of the training, For the sake of everything my mother and my grandmother and all the women in my family have ever done and how we acted. I did it. I set myself up every time, Not because I'm a bad person, Not because I'm daft, Nothing like that, But because I'm just part of this world. And this is the personality I was born into and this is the family I was born into. And of course this had all happened because that morning I crawled back into bed because I thought this is what he wanted even though I actually wanted to go do something else and it didn't turn out the way I wanted and I got triggered. But who denied who? Me, Because I didn't honor myself. So it's a very interesting thing and to understand like to come to this place where we realize that, Wow, I am this divine being and all of these other beings are divine beings. This is not a beginner concept. You know, This isn't something that you're like, You know what, I want to study Tantra and the first thing someone says is, Okay, Understand that all those people out there, They're not really doing anything to you, It's you. You don't just start there. There's a journey of exploration that we go on as we unpack things from our inner child, As we unpack things and traumas and difficulties that have happened in our lives. The journey takes us here and we've all been there. There's little things that we've learned along the way. One friend here said, You know, She switched teams intimately and suddenly this whole part of her being was released and this is the spiritual journey that we think we're fine even though we have pain and even though we have difficulty. But then all of a sudden something changes and this whole other part of us opens up and all of a sudden all these beautiful aspects are there now to be looked at and healed and integrated. So what this sutra is talking about is really deeply connecting with that center, With that Atman, With that Brahman, With that eternal self. And then all of a sudden somebody comes along that kind of rubs you the wrong way. But whatever, They rubbed me the wrong way. And maybe you meet someone else and you really like them. That's awesome. But it doesn't pull you off center. How easy is it when there's something going on and you are just so enraged by this person. You're just like, I can't stand that person, This and that. And there's this whole rage going on. You are so off center. Your whole self is lost in the emotionality of anger and hate. Similarly, Maybe you meet someone and they just love you like you've never been loved before and they put you on a pedestal and they think that you are just the most amazing being. Well, You can get equally drunk on that and absolutely just, You know, This happens all the time. It happens in love. It happens with guru worship. It happens all the time. And it's like, I am just, But none of this is who you really are. It's all just part of the drama. It's all part of the soap opera that's unfolding around us. So this sutra is all about just living in your center. So like, For example, This morning, So for anyone who doesn't know, I live in Canada and we are coming out of quite a severe winter. A lot of snow. It's been pretty wild. But today it's above zero and the snow has been slowly leaving as spring comes. And so early this morning, I was out walking the dog. I was walking up to my house and I was looking at the house going, Wow, Does it ever look different without those seven foot snow banks? And you can actually see grass. And then I had this idea of, You know, When people make those time-lapse videos, You know, I thought, Oh, Wouldn't it have been cool if I had have taken a picture every morning of the yard for like five months and actually seen the change of how the property looked with various levels of snow, Seven foot to grass to sun, You know, To leaves on the trees, To everything. And then as I was walking across the road, I suddenly had this beautiful centered feeling that it was almost like the property, Me, Is always here. But the amount of snow changes. The amount of leaves change. The amount of grass changes over time. And all these things keep changing over time. But I am still walking the dog and the house is still sitting on the corner. But all these things keep changing over time. But I am here. The house is here. That's a lot like this sutra. No matter who comes and goes in our lives, Whether we like them or we don't like them, Whether they like us or they don't like us, It actually has no bearing on me. You know, In that atman, That sense of self is pure joy, Pure light. I'm going to read to you a different translation of this sutra. So here's the direct translation of the Sanskrit. One who makes no distinction between friend and foe, Honor and dishonor, Knowing Brahman to be full in itself and all pervading, Becomes supremely happy. I'm going to read another one. See friend and foe as equal, Honor and dishonor as the same. Knowing the self to be complete and full, You will become perpetually happy. I'm going to read another one and then I'll go back and read the first one. Because of the conviction that everything is full of Brahman, The aspirant has the same attitude towards friend and foe, Remains the same both in honor and dishonor. And thus, Because of this conviction, He is perpetually happy. I'm going to reread the first one for me. One who makes no distinction between friend and foe, Honor and dishonor, Knowing Brahman to be full in itself, All pervading, Becomes supremely happy. So this is this ability to stay centered in highly emotional situations. It's an interesting feeling. So we're going to do a little meditation. Let's all close our eyes for a minute. No matter where you are, Whether you are horizontal or vertical, If you're driving, Just listen. With your eyes open, If you're pretending to work, Do whatever you need. So let's just breathe deeply, Releasing all thought, Expanding the belly as we inhale, Contracting as we exhale. I'd like you to imagine in your mind's eye that you're walking down the street, And it's a quiet country town. There's not really any cars. So you're walking down the middle of the street. It's very safe. And you feel yourself beautifully balanced, Breathing deeply, Feeling the sun on your face. Your body feels good, And you're just gently wandering down the street. And then to your right, On the sidewalk, You see a friend, And you love this friend. And they love you. And your heart lifts a little, And you wave hello to this friend. You feel a little warmer inside, But you keep gently walking down the street as they pass. And then on the left sidewalk, Or the sidewalk to your left, You see someone that you don't like. And a different feeling flows through you, Maybe a tightening, A contraction. But you breathe through it, And you stay in the center of the road. And you just relax into that. And you notice the two feelings that went through your body, Just emotions, Just feelings. And then you feel the sun on your face again. As you continue to walk, Different people are walking on the sidewalks, Going different directions. Some people you like, Some people you don't like. Some people may be something that you look up to, Others you don't. But you just keep your beautiful stride walking down the center of the road, Breathing deeply, Watching the world go by with all of its characters. Sama shatrao cha mitre, Cha sama mana ava manayo. Brahmana pari purnatvat, Iti nyatva sukhi pavet. It's always the same. Barbarians and blockheads, Rival queens and kings. The drama rolls on and on. When people honor you, You are supposed to feel honored. When you don't get respect, They expect you to sulk in indignation. One minute you are cruising on a throne in the sky. The next you are standing on some bleak patch of dirt. I say the sun regards all with a steady eye. The force sustaining earth and sky calls everyone to awaken from this trance. The whole world revolves around an axis and I am that. When you are friends with a friend to all beings, Nothing is the same. Rich beyond measure, Abundant beyond counting. You can move through this life laughing. Opinions of others have no rulership over you. So in your mind's eye, Come to standing in that street. Close your eyes and feel the whole world a part of you. Breathing deeply. All the ups, The downs, The warmth, The cold, The likes, The dislikes. Feel them all flowing through you as a wholeness. Feel the sun on your face. And feel how magnificent you are. And then let's gently open our eyes in real life. And thank you so much for being here. And I hope you have a wonderful day.

Reviews

I love to listen to this talk, breath through my heart and connect to Atman ❤️

Always thoughtful, ultimately practical, as we each move through our human journey, ever connected to our divinity! 💫🌀🌬️🙏

Thank you Katrina for that empowering talk. It is really grounding to remember that no matter how things change we remain the same stable consciousness within. 🙏🏽

Awesometastic this one! Thanks again Queen Katrina!! 🌞🐬💗🌸