Gita in Daily Life 07/11 - A close look at Happiness - Talk by Sw Aparajitananda, Chinmaya Mission.

Описание: Hari Om !
Gita in Daily Life 07 - A close look at Happiness - Talk by Swami Aparajitananda, Chinmaya Mission, Chicago - Yamunotri

! It's wonderful that Pujya Swamiji provides insights into types of happiness described in Chapter 18, verses 36 to 39 of Gita. Let's explore these insights by listening to this lecture and understand how they guide us towards a more fulfilling and disciplined life.
Pujya Swamiji guides us on the following:
1. Types of Happiness: Understanding the different types of happiness we experience.
2. Discipline's Role in Happiness: How discipline helps us evolve on the ladder of happiness.
3. Benefits of Discipline: How discipline improves our life experience, even at a gross level.
4. Seeking the Right Happiness: Which kind of happiness we should seek.
5. Peace of Mind: Whether peace of mind is an imagination or an actual experience.
6. Inner Conflict: The role of the tug of war in our minds in fostering evolution.
7. Importance of Satsang: How satsang helps manage the inner conflict of the mind.
8. Path to Freedom: How discipline, inner conflict, and satsang help us achieve the freedom we desire.
9. Superiority of Sattvic Joy: Why sattvic joy is considered the highest form of happiness.
10. Adi Shankaracharya's Warning: Adi Shankaracharya's caution about how rajasic happiness can steal everything from us.
11. Controlled Senses vs. Indulgence: The difference between joy derived when the senses are under control versus joy derived through indulgence.
12. Controlled Mind: The necessity of having a controlled mind to experience happiness, as we live in our minds and thoughts.
13. Tamasic Happiness: How the mind derives happiness from carelessness, laziness, and indifference.
Swamiji's striking advice to seekers is that it is far better to be miserable in knowledge than peaceful in ignorance.
Reflection and Self-Assessment
Pujya Swamiji recommends certain tests to understand the nature of our mind:
1. Control over Thoughts: Are you able to start or stop thinking about a topic at will, or do thoughts dominate your mind?
2. Attachment to Objects and Situations: How easily does your mind get attached to external things, beings, and situations?
3. Perception of Joy and Pain: Can your mind perceive the initial temporary joy and the eventual pain that comes from sense indulgence?
Using verses from the Mukundamala by Kulasekhara Alwar, Pujya Swamiji encourages us to address the challenge of our extroverted senses by turning them towards the Lord.
Pujya Swamiji concludes by emphasising the importance of seeking sattvic happiness, as it is the only real and lasting form of happiness. By directing our efforts towards becoming more sattvic, we align ourselves with the path of true joy and fulfilment.
The next discussions will be on the types of food and charity, which will further guide us in our spiritual journey.