Ritam - Being in Balance. A Podcast on Wellbeing
Mental wellbeing is an escalating global challenge having serious impact on the quality of life, productivity in workplace etc. Our approach to wellbeing fundamentally depends on our perspective of ourselves. Are we just human beings, not much different from animals or something more? Over thousands of years the Vedic spiritual seekers dived deep within themselves to explore the inner space and they repeatedly verified that we all, without exception, are in essence really spiritual beings having human experiences. Their discoveries form Vedanta philosophy - the 'science of human excellences" - which explain in detail and with much clarity how we have multidimensional physical, mental, emotional and ethical layers of personality covering the fundamental Pure and eternal spiritual being. Along with this, the Vedic seekers developed systematic Yoga techniques to purify our minds and "dis-cover" our true Self.
The Vedantic conception of ourselves and Yogic mind-management techniques offer an alternative approach to address the mental wellbeing challenges. Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, Auckland has taken up a project to make available these Vedanta-Yoga teachings to empower individuals with the knowledge and skill-sets to better manage their minds, emotions, values etc. to live meaningful, peaceful and productive lives.
Ritam is the Vedic principle responsible for maintaining order, harmony and rhythm both in the macrocosm and the microcosm. Stress, tension, dis-ease etc arise when we lose this balance at different levels of our being and around us. We have limited capacity to influence change outside us but we can definitely integrate our mind to our inner Self to gain greater poise, balance and rhythm in life. Meditation is the art of turning the mind inwards and anchoring it to our eternal, omniscient, blissful and pure Self. The more we are integrated with our inner Self, the greater will be the influence we can cast around us. This is the spiritual way to freedom from the slavery to the eternal world and internal body, senses and mind.
Ritam - Being in Balance is our series of conversations with Swami Tadananda wherein we explore the Vedanta-Yoga teachings and practices to promote our wellbeing.
Ritam - Being in Balance. A Podcast on Wellbeing
38.Wellbeing - Bhakti yoga part 1
In our engaging segment on Bhakti Yoga, we turn to the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, who emphasized devotion as the most accessible path for contemporary individuals. While the Vedic Rishis practiced intense meditation, Swamiji suggests that people balancing daily responsibilities might find brief moments of meditation more practical. Learn how to channel powerful emotions—whether positive or negative—towards the divine or your higher self, transforming them into vibrant energy for a dynamic and productive life.
Synchronization and harmony are not just mystical concepts; they have practical applications in our everyday lives. We delve into the concept of resonance and rhythm entrainment, demonstrating how teams can elevate their collective energy, much like grandfather clocks that eventually swing in unison. Explore how aligning with higher energies can lead to spiritual growth, and see how these principles can enhance teamwork and organizational success. Join us for an illuminating discussion on integrating the ancient wisdom of yoga into modern life, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of the path of devotion.
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Namaste to the listeners and Namaste Swamiji. How are you? Namaste Sunil, I'm very good. How are you? I'm good. Thank you, swamiji. Today I thought we could start by recapping for our listeners the four yogas. We've talked about three yogas in a lot of detail already which is on meditation, which is called Raj Yoga, we've talked about Karma Yoga and in our last episode we talked about Gyan Yoga. So today, before we go into the details of the fourth yoga, shall we just do a quick recap for them?
Speaker 2:Yes, sunil, thank you for that. So when great teachers come, they work out for us in a very systematic way the paths that we can follow. They give a lot of theory, a lot of teachings in there, but in a very clear way they will prescribe exactly what we need to do. And so, for Ramakrishna mission, when Swami Vivekananda founded the mission, he tried to, in a very beautiful way, encapsulate the ideal of the organization, what the organization stands for, and that is represented in the logo of the Ramakrishna Mission. You're all familiar with that and you see there are four aspects of it, actually five. We have the rising sun, which is the symbol of knowledge. When the sun rises, the darkness disappears. The lotus is represented of bhakti, representing bhakti and blooming and opening of the emotional dimension. The heart, the water, incessantly in waves, represents karma yoga, always where action, physically and mentally. And the encircling serpent represents the awakening of the kundalini. The raja yoga In the center is the swan. The sw serpent represents the awakening of the kundalini. The raja yoga in the center is this one. The swan represents the supreme being. The atman, a person who has realized the self, is called param hamsa. Hamsa is the swan, the supreme swan, so it represents the supreme being. Or one who has realized that when he gives a milk to a swan, it will take the essence of the milk and leave the water part behind. So a person who has been it will take the essence of the milk and leave the water part behind. So a person who has been able to separate the essence of this universe, which is the pure consciousness, from all the names and forms, which is constantly changing, has been able to separate the unchanging from the changing. He is given that title as a recognition of that realization, as a in recognition of that realization.
Speaker 2:So these four yogas Yana, bhakti, karma, dhyana, raja Yoga are not watertight, separate compartments. They all, like we, are everything integrated together. When we study or describe something, just like you know, you look at the biology textbook, you have got the different chapters around different things and doctors become specialized in describe something. Just like you know, you look at the biology textbook you have got the digestive, different chapters around different things and doctors become specialized in different type of fields. But the human beings are total, interconnected, one is connected to the other. All of them are integrated.
Speaker 2:So it's very important that, while we might study each one separately that we have to go through that process of synthesizing, integrating. Then it becomes holistic and supporting each other and beautiful, blending. Otherwise it will be like one side, you go off the track. The four wheels in the car should all be in harmony, otherwise you know, the vehicle will go off the track. So these four yogas have to be understood in that, the reason why these four yogas are prescribed, because this human being, every human being, has been born with these four faculties.
Speaker 2:Okay, we have got the intellect through which we reason, jnana. We have the heart through which we feel emotions. That is bhakti path will come there we are. We've got hands and feet, karmendriyas, by which we are engaging ourself and in speech. So these are action, karma, and now and then we all want to shut all this down and repose and withdraw into ourself and feel that calmness. That is the path of meditation. So we are always all of us, in one way or the other in our day-to-day engagements and duties and responsibilities, are using these faculties.
Speaker 1:Yes. So, swamiji, I suppose the question now is the four pathways. Are they leading to something Like? Are they? What is the so?
Speaker 2:they're called yogas. All of them have got a bhakti yoga, jnana yoga. So yoga means to join. The two meanings are there of yoga in the scriptures. One means it comes from the Sanskrit word yukta, join. That means the jivatma, the embodied self, which we experience. Our self has to be. Uh has somehow lost its connection with the paramatma, the wave doesn't know that there's a notion behind it, type of thing. So yoga means to connect, and in bhakti, the devotee connects himself to the supreme being, uh. In jnana, the j Jeevatma says I am not this body-mind complex, I am the Supreme being.
Speaker 2:In all of these methods we are trying to reintegrate ourselves to our own higher self. This human being that we conceive and experience ourselves is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a bigger something under the water, invisible, invisible, that is far superior to what we are experiencing ourselves. And there in, in that dimension of our being, we are perfect, we are pure, we are eternal, immortal. So somehow we have deviated from that grounding, so to say, and as a result, everything has become limited limited in in knowledge, limited in happiness, limited in everything. And so the more we integrate ourselves, the greater the power that is within us begins to shine and express itself. So that is the reason why everyone, because everyone wants to be the better self.
Speaker 2:Okay, we're making an effort to that, we try to develop that capacity, but most of our effort is only in the physical world. Yes, physical body, a little bit of intellectual, by education and training and all that. We try to cultivate that. There's not much cultivation and development of that emotional faculty Really systematically. We discussed about it in the earlier episodes and that is one faculty that is so powerful and it determines most of what we do every day, right from what you eat, how you dress, you feel like it. You know you can't explain it.
Speaker 1:And how you behave with others and your relationships.
Speaker 2:It's actually the intellectual part is maybe 25%, even less. You can listen and understand, but when you are making decisions, that gets pushed aside almost. The emotions take over and you know so little about it. So, to understand and utilize and channelize that energy in a constructive way in our everyday life, forget about the spiritual. That itself is a great power of that knowledge, yes. And then of course, course you have this everyone needs to integrate themselves, become calm and connected. You know within and rest the natural ways people do that is, people go to sleep. The body shuts down, shuts off all the activities, shuts off all the senses, just for you to recharge. See, because it needs to get integrated. That's at a physical level, at a physical level, at a mental level, all sorts. But and that happens not because you are in control of it, okay, you just need to recharge and the body shuts down, whether you like it or not. But meditation is an integration where you do it consciously, in a controlled way, controlled way and more intensely. The rest that you get through a deep meditation is more powerful than the sleep. And so in this stressful world, one needs to relax and disconnect from the outside and find inner balance. The meditation for that person is just a very practical device or technique to regain your balance. You know, keep, keep yourself centered in yourself, not get knocked out, type of thing. The other higher goal of that you're asking about realizing god or realizing your higher self. The same techniques can be engineered to for that higher goal. But even if you are not wanting that, even then you should practice Karma Yoga, bhakti Yoga, jnana Yoga, just maintaining your balance in the struggle and strife of life. So everyone should practice. It should if they want a full, a better, meaningful, purposeful, balanced, harmonious life, type of thing. So these four yogas are there.
Speaker 2:We have discussed Karma Yoga, the art of working without any attachment to the results of work, because attachment creates problem and we suffer because we can't detach ourselves from things that trouble us, can't shake them off like the donkey could shake this. We gave that little story. So how do we develop that method by which we can be? The boat is in the water, but the water is not in the boat. You go out and do all the activities, but you don't carry them back and let it disturb your sleep. For the rest of the day, give your whole attention to whatever you're doing and then you should be able to drop it there 100% and just move on. That would be wonderful, isn't it? Yes, how do we develop that capacity? Karma Yoga teaches that.
Speaker 2:Jnana Yoga tells hey, what we see in this world is only an appearance, how it is presented to us through the five senses, how it is interpreted by the mind. But they say that's only a representation of information and our experiences in our mind. Ten people seeing the same thing will have ten different experiences depending on how their mind is conditioned. But behind this whole names and forms, the movie is a screen which is untouched by all the drama that is going on. How do we come face to face and experience that witness the screen on which this whole movie is being played? But it doesn't get stained by some shooting that we see in the movie. It's the white, same screen.
Speaker 2:So that is Jnana Yoga. It's there in all the time, but in a different dimension. We talked about meditation, the eight steps of meditation, how systematically we calm ourselves, detach ourselves from the external world and turn that attention inwards and focus it in the center of the core of our being, on a spiritual subject, and try to resonate with it, resonate our minds with it, with the help of mantra, so that we strengthen that connection between the mind and that higher dimension of ourself. So we have discussed these three, but they are not watertight compartments at all. We also discussed in the last how karma gets enriched with the Vedanta perspective. Knowledge that you are doing work, but the people you are dealing with are all spiritual beings, so knowledge comes in there excellent.
Speaker 1:That's very good, Swamiji. That's a very good recap for our listeners. Now can we go on to the fourth yoga, which is Bhakti Yoga, also known as the path of devotion?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, in this age and time. Interestingly, sri Ramakrishna said this path of Bhakti is probably the easiest. You're supposed to climb to the peak. You can go straight up on the steep incline or you can go spherically.
Speaker 2:You know, round and round and round and still reach the goal so most, while Gyan, yoga and all that were practiced by these Vedic Rishis, but they were not people going around and doing everyday life. They went out into the forest and they, you, they spent hours and hours in contemplation, meditation, and all that sharpened their mind without any distraction. Then they could develop that faculty to discriminate between the, you know, separate the world from the spiritual truth. But the ordinary man who is busy with his duties, responsibilities from morning to evening, at best he is getting some 10-15 minutes time to do some little bit of meditation. Can you guys? All it becomes just an intellectual exercise. What can we really practice at the end of the day?
Speaker 1:that is, tell me that yeah, and also from your emotions, yes, so the emotions directed to the divine right becomes devotion right okay okay, okay, that's good, that's well put. That's it. Yeah, emotions directed to the divine or the higher being? Yeah, higher self, our own, our own higher self is devotion.
Speaker 2:So emotions are there. Let us explore emotions. It's a, we say it's a feeling. What type of feeling? You know kindness, compassion, love, affection and all those things and their negative emotions are also anger, hatred, jealousy, greed. You know violence and all those type of comes. Just, these are powerful emotions and you'll see, everyone is a bundle of emotion in one way or the other, constantly changing from in situations, in different interactions. It's power vortex of energy type of thing. Which way is it spinning? Sometimes it can be even cyclonic, self-destructive. In anger, people do so much harm to themselves and to others, while another person who's so loving and kind does so much good to themselves, to others.
Speaker 2:So we have to understand. It's a form of energy in this world, everything in this universe. The foundation is pure consciousness, brahman, and any aspect of manifestation is called shakti, brahman and shakti fire and its power to burn, burning power is Shakti, agner, dahika, shakti. The fire will burn, something you know, otherwise it's not fire. Yeah, okay. So Brahman is like fire. Its burning power is Shakti. The whole universe, whether it's gross, what is experienced as matter, or ideas and thoughts of mind. They are all different levels of energy.
Speaker 2:Okay, so it's all about managing energy, basically. Okay, now if you have that type of scientific approach, let's understand. What is this energy? How does it work? How does energy work? So if you want to do a little bit of scientifically, let us say understand, because we want to build a little bit of theory around me. So when we study physics, we say there are so many forms of energy. Light is energy, heat is energy, electricity is energy, magnetism is energy, gravitation is energy or forces with energy. When you represent that, you see energy always flows in cycles and that's represented by waves light wave, sound wave and all that.
Speaker 2:Any wave representation has two characteristics. One, it's how fast is it, how frequently it is going in the cycles. It's called frequency. Yeah, if, the more, the more it is, the more energy it has got. The energy of a wave is proportional to its frequency. So you've got this low energy waves like sound wave. Then light comes, visual spectrum you know these different colors are different frequencies. Then you've got x-rays. It can penetrate through the skin but can't penetrate through the bone. Microwave can go even deeper. Gamma rays can go throughout the earth and come out on the other side unobstructed. The higher the energy, the more the power of penetration. It's like your when you say on phone you know 2g, 3g, 4g. G is representing the frequency of the signal. Right, and see it. You know how much information is contained when you go from 2g to 5g.
Speaker 2:Yes, okay, so understand that it's all about using energy. They're using it for communication purposes, yes, technology, yes. So mind is also energy. Yeah, and the mind has got its own different frequency in different people. Sometimes, when you say how the mind has got its own different frequency in different people, sometimes when you say how the mind has come down and feeling a bit low, that means you feel there's not much energy.
Speaker 1:Energy levels are low. Energy levels are low.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we express in that level and sometimes you are all fired up and excited and this and that and just vibrant and challenging and go and seal and achieve so much. There Energy level is high, charged up. You say it's charged up, so what is charged up? The mental energy frequency has gone up. Yes, all right. So let's try to have this understanding.
Speaker 2:What is the mind? Imagine the mind is a form of energy and some energy is fed to it and energy gets boosted, or some energy gets drained out of it. It's some energy is fed to it and energy gets boosted, or some energy gets drained out of it. It becomes low. But within us, what is controlling our actions? Thought is this bundle of energy, okay. And the second thing is so, frequency is one and the other one is amplitude. Yeah, how up and down the distance between peak to peak, yeah, yeah. So if you say, what is what determines? How do we experience amplitude? It's like if it's sound, then how loud it is, okay, if it's frequency of sound, what's the pitch? Yeah, you know, high, high, high pitch or low pitch. When it's light, frequency determines the color, amplitude determines its brightness, right, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:So these are the two features and we are energy everywhere.
Speaker 2:We are in a ocean of energy. All types of energies are constantly bombarding into us and we have got these devices like eyes and the ears, nose, tongue, skin, which is able to take this energy, capture them, them, focus them, present it to the mind. The mind then constructs an image and that's the world we experience. But looking from a very scientific point of view, it's all energy, constantly coming. That energy can be. So you are a bundle of energy, I'm a bundle of energy. When two bundles come together, then you're interacting, swamiji this how this is.
Speaker 1:This seems like a physics lecture. I am thinking there is a connection to bhakti yoga. Some say so. This is the pre prelude to it, otherwise we will talk about things without explaining.
Speaker 2:Once we get the fundamental ideas understood, then we say I am a bundle of energy, and bhakti means so. Another principle you have to introduce a bundle of energy, its own amplitude and frequency. Everyone is a bundle of energy. Let us say Everyone is a wave in that ocean, all right. And so if you have 10 people, they're all have got different frequencies, vibrating with different ideas, different levels of enthusiasm when you come together. Okay, there's interaction. Now let us say how does that interaction happen? When two waves come together, in physics they will interfere and create what is called an interference pattern. They can cancel each other out destructive interference, or they can add to each other's and have constructive interference, right, and so they will increase the yeah, frequency and amplitudes you will increase amplitude.
Speaker 2:So, like you go into a board meeting, yeah, okay, everyone is on the page, you're supporting each other. Yes, everyone goes. But you get another guy who throws a spanner in the works and he's criticizing, and nah and this, and that you see, he just neutralizes the enthusiasm. Or they said, sometimes you just cancel the whole thing. Nothing came out of that. Nothing came out. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:So see the science of it. We are going to use this principle in devotion, but we are using it in our everyday life. It's good to understand that also. Yes, so wherever two people come and they find the frequencies are matching, then we are in sync, we are on the same page. You will gravitate towards each other and you will enjoy that company because this energy begins to flow between you. Have a very nice conversation and you're agreeing on most things, but you're just sharing each other and reinforcing each other and you feel uplifted in that conversation. You want to get back to that conversation. Birds of a feather flock together.
Speaker 2:What's the mechanics behind this? So, when energies come, or two bundles of energy, when the energy transference between one system to the other, one person to the other, one group to the other, is through the principle of resonance. Do you resonate with it? So when two systems, two people have the same frequency, they will be in harmony with each other. And perfect harmony means when they're close, they will gravitate towards each other. The perfect harmony means it's totally synchronized. Okay, totally synchronized with each other.
Speaker 2:And that's when the two have become one, almost because the difference has become one, almost because the difference has become obliterated. That's what's called coupling. And two people, a man and a woman, they meet each other like that. At some point they want to become a couple because they totally feel comfort in the ambitions, whatever they want. But if for any reason one deviates out of it, then you say dec or whatever they want. But if for any reason one deviates out of it, then you say decouple also is upright, also see the principle of it. Yes, you see how it is there and it's very powerful.
Speaker 1:If you are the same, sorry so just interjection. Same principle could apply to you know when, when there's a group of people together and one person is quite energetic, you know a lot of vibrancy is bringing to the group. As soon as a person leaves, it sort of drops down, and so he's obviously operating at this level and is lifting the group. Yes, as soon as a person goes, the group goes back down. So how do people lift to that higher energy level? Is there?
Speaker 2:So we talked about this already, but it's good to bring that here and connect it. We talked about this principle of rhythm and trainment. Yes, and we gave that example how, if you have these five grandfather clocks on the wall that were out of sync and you just randomly swinging, and you leave them after some time and you come back, they're all swinging together, so they're communicating. And the communicator decided that it's better for all of us to be in harmony than to be jarring, interfering with each other and canceling each other. But it might take a whole day or something for this to happen. Yes, but if you bring the six o'clock and put it out of sync, this will not take so much time. It will be drawn into it much quicker. The bigger system will pull it and say become part of us, in tune with us.
Speaker 2:Yes, so that is called a rhythm entrainment. It will entrain you into itself, right, and you look at it. You go join a company in a group where people are there. They have different rhythm. You are an outsider in the beginning, a little bit out of sorts, but after some time and I have settled in everything is nice, you have been pulled into that system.
Speaker 1:This could be linked to the company's culture. Yeah, whatever it is, the bigger system will pull it off. This is the way we operate, this is how we behave and this is how this is what is.
Speaker 2:And you begin then you have settled in, everything is very nice, I've made friends and we are doing things together. Yeah, so see how the. If somebody were just observing each one as in mind, not as a person, and the frequency suppose we could measure like that then you would see the mechanics of it, how the, the, the energy of the bigger system pulled itself.
Speaker 1:Okay, but these are the strategy, but like when? When some people just won't integrate with the bigger system?
Speaker 2:yeah, so they'll fall off, they'll fall off. They'll fall off because you know how they go sometimes because the difference may be too much it's too much okay so too much, too much gap yeah, too much gap to actually pull up yeah. So if you are a businessman and conducting an interview and trying to find who is the guy I should hire, if you just look at his academic qualification and experience, that's one thing. He might have all that, but does he fit? You might say does it fit, fit in?
Speaker 2:the culture will he fit or not? Yes, and so you know if, if you understood what we, they understood the mechanics, then in the interview they will try to suss this out. Would he, would he be a fit and will he remain? There's another thing yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:So sometimes you've got five people, six people, a group, everyone is working nicely, everything was going. Then one of them feels I must move on. Yeah, okay, do something different, do something different. It's getting very monotonous. No growth and development. It's sort of holding me back type of thing.
Speaker 2:So while the bigger system can lift somebody up, it can also prevent anyone trying to leave, yeah from, and it'll drag him in, yeah, because it kept. So somebody says, hey, I'm not, you know, I want to try something new. The boss will say I'll give you an increment, I'll give you, give you more responsibility. All these are different systems by which he's trying to say remain with us.
Speaker 2:But to understand this, from that energy, the mind we are dealing with. So this is how we're interacting with the whole day we drive out as a bundle of energy, thoughts, ideas bubbling in there. We're going to work, work in their office, people are there, super seniors, juniors, and all that, and what you achieve in that whole day is very important, because what you make in that whole day is very important, because what you make a contribution, how much you contribute and how you have been in rhythm with others, and if you are not in rhythm with others then it's not a very pleasant place to work. Yes, that's right. You stress out you're unhappy, you're irritable and get irritated by others. So this whole science of it, it, if it's understood by the upper management and people that for us to succeed we have to be the team. When you call the team means everyone is on the same on the same page.
Speaker 2:Right, that's what they keep saying, that are we on the same page are we on the same page, are all our ideas aligned in the same direction? So then we have intensity, otherwise we'll nullify each other type of thing. When pulling that way, it's like a tug of war between us. You don't go anywhere. Both the guys pull in the same direction. There is tremendous power. So it's very interesting to understand this mind entity in terms of science. Why do we do that? You see, mind is only part of nature. We do we do that. You see, mind is only part of nature. We have studied the physical world and we have discovered these principles that govern how the external material world operates, and the same principles can be applied in the mental level also. Okay, to have a better understanding of how the mind operates and how to manage it. So that being sort of a foundation about the…. Before we go into the actual path of devotion.
Speaker 2:So how that principle would be applied for uplifting ourself? Okay, to highest level level. The resonance principle yeah, okay, I have got a mind and I would like to resonate with some other form of energy which is at a higher level, which is the high level, and in that process I would be lifted up, my mind would be lifted up to that high level. That would be the principle behind what we will say the path of devotion. But maybe we should, because it's going to take a little bit of time. Let's do that in great small detail.
Speaker 1:Let this be the introduction to that we had a good recap of the four yogas in this episode and just a good prelude to what's to come as we set our sights on conquering the path of devotion.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Samaji. It's a very interesting subject.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
