Thank you for coming to this month's senior program. For those who were not able to make it, here is a summary of activities that took place on Thursday Jan 27th at the HTCC premise.
We had a cozy gathering. We started the session with a fifteen minute warm up joint exercises. The seniors participated with full interest as Preeti, another volunteer and I led the group with joint exercises starting from feet and working our way up to our hands and ending with eye exercises. We had a melodic shruti playing on in the back ground that set our ambience to one of peace and calm within. We then moved on to a 5 minute AUM chanting. As we continued the AUM chant, the chant changed from an external audible sound to one of soft rhythmic sound towards the end. It showed visibly how the mind had begun to settle into the quietude. This was the perfect moment to handover the session to Dr. Ramanathan.
Dr. Ramanathan started the session giving a brief background on our Vedic tradition. He proceeded to highlight the common self-misconception we all have, namely, taking oneself to be the body-senses-mind complex. He started the analysis with "where is the boundary that separates the "I" from the rest of the "Universe". Typically, we are fixated on the notion that the boundary is the physical body and anything beyond is part of the universe. He then took us down this path to the next question: if I "see" my body, then I am not the body. There is someone seeing the body. Traveling down that analysis further, we typically identify ourselves with the mind, which is but an incessant flow of thoughts. However, upon reflection, we realize that I am able to "watch" my thoughts which seem to be changing constantly. “I,” the "observer", clearly is different from the "observed" thoughts. In short, "I" is the "Observer", and anything that one sees, hears, feels, or experiences in any manner by the body senses, mind, or intellect is the "Observed." This analysis leads to a fundamental inquiry. If I am not the body, senses, mind, or intellect, the question remains as to "Who Am I" Who is the ultimate "Observer?"
The Vedic scriptures reveal the fact that the truth of "I” is the “Ever-present Eternal-Witness-Consciousness" on which is projected the whole Creation that manifests for each individual as the dual, namely, the "Observer" and the "Observed." Unfortunately, just knowing what the scriptures reveal does not enable us to assimilate and own that truth. We are still caught up in our day-to-day dramas based on the erroneous notion that "I" is a tiny limited entity enclosed in the physical body struggling helplessly against a vast universe. To make matters worse, this erroneous-I notion is reinforced continuously as one engages in the daily struggle of the ego-I transacting with the world in search of happiness. Thus the entire series of experiences during the waking hours act as a dysfunctional "meditation" reinforcing one's ignorance about the truth of "I" and the "Creation." To break this misplaced focus on the "Pseudo-I' and direct the mind to the Ultimate Truth, the Limitless Consciousness, our Vedic scriptures have given us a wealth of knowledge and methodologies. It has also given us a unique tradition of "Guru-Sishya-Sampradaya" to help us gain this unique Self-Knowledge and thus become Self-Realized and achieve liberation from the bondage of mortality.
Dr. Ramanathan then introduced the meaning of "AUM" from Mandukya Upanishad and explained the intricacies and profundity of this beautiful word "AUM". He further clarified that when we meditate with the help of the chanting of "AUM," (or any other mantra) there is a gap or silence between successive "AUMs." If we begin to shift our focus from the sound of the mantra to the silence between the two AUM's, we will gradually come to recognize the Ultimate consciousness that is our true nature. The practice then becomes one of bringing our mind to abide in that gap/silence, extending that silence and sustaining it for a length of time. When the mind abides effortlessly, Consciousnessreveals itself as the ever-present Truth of "I."
After the session, we had a simple delicious lunch. We made an announcement for the Rang Tarang fund raising event organized by the HTCC temple. (This event is on Feb 5th. Please check the website for details and to get the tickets.) The lunch was followed by a sudoku activity. There were quite a few advanced sudoku players and they finished solving the puzzles much earlier than the estimated time. They got to take home more advanced sudoku puzzles to try at home. The winners of this month’s Sudoku puzzles are Ira Deb, Surinder Bath, Seema Waghmare and Sudha Kansal.
A special thank you to our dedicated team of temple volunteers who helped with the senior program; Jyoti, Preeti, Runalee and Sushil. Your presence is much appreciated during this time. A very special thank you to Devraj Sharma ji and other anonymous volunteers who help in setting up the tables, chairs etc. Thank you.