Summary:

How to have a calmer, more peaceful and equanimous mind. First step in discerning atma & anatma is by recognizing the inner-instrument (antahkarana) that gets mixed up with self.

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, Verse 53:
What exactly is Karma-Yoga?

श्रुति-विप्रतिपन्ना ते यदा स्थास्यति निश्चला ।
समाधौ अचला बुद्धिः तदा योगम् अवाप्स्यसि ॥ २-५३॥
śruti-vipratipannā te yadā sthāsyati niścalā ।
samādhau acalā buddhiḥ tadā yogam avāpsyasi ॥ 2-53॥

When your mind is no longer distracted by the Vedas (which present various means and ends to be gained) it will remain steady, firmly established in the self. Then you will gain self-knowledge.

Discussion of this verse is continuing from previous session…

Understanding the Four Pursuits (Purusharthas) and Their Limitations

The four pursuits of life that all humans naturally seek:

1. Kama (Pleasure)
   • Everyone desires pleasure and delights
   • Everyone seeks breaks from life's hardships
   • Ultimately limited by time and circumstance
2. Artha (Security)
   • Everyone desires predictability and safety
   • Safety enables learning and growth
   • Studies show we perform best when we feel safe in our environment. EG: When in unfamiliar environments, we become withdrawn or introverted; in safe environments like our own home, we become talkative, open, and prone to learning.
3. Dharma (Ethical Values)
   • Provides direction and guidance
   • Universal ethical values that show alignment or misalignment of actions
   • Creates a framework for right action, but still confines us to rules
4. Moksha (Freedom)
   • Freedom from limitation of every kind
   • The ultimate goal that transcends the other three pursuits
   • Recognition that the first three pursuits are necessary but limited

Why We Need All Four Pursuits

The first three pursuits (kama, artha, dharma) are necessary but limited:

• They produce “what else?” – there's always one more thing to pursue
• They give time-bound, limited results
• They keep us within the bounds of creation

Moksha becomes necessary because:

• If honest with yourself, you don't want something time-bound
• Even great pleasure that lasts only five years will leave you craving those years again
• Wherever you go in creation, to whichever world, there's always one level above you
• You seek freedom from the limitations of every kind

Karma Yoga: The Path Within Daily Life

Karma Yoga has two essential components:

1) Skill in Action — Yoga karmasu kaushalam / ishvara arpana buddhi 

• • Discernment of what's the right thing to do in each moment
  • Ability to recognize what is called of me now vs. what is not
  • Making adjustments based on feedback. EG: Business owners must test what marketing channels work. If Facebook marketing isn't working, you change your approach or try Google AdWords instead.

2) Equanimity — Samatvam Yoga ucyate / Ishvara prasada buddhi

• • Understanding the universe isn't made to appease your fancies
  • Recognizing that even challenging outcomes are ultimately beneficial
  • Maintaining balance regardless of results

Ways students shared to maintain equanimity:

• Living in the moment (slowing down, being aware of mind's tendency to wander)
• Believing whatever happens is for the best
• Keeping life simple and removing unnecessary complexity
• Acceptance, lack of resistance, and humility
• Surrender to a higher order
• Understanding the intricate network of karma
• “This too shall pass” – when something challenging happens, recognize it will pass, but while it's here, learn from it rather than let it be a wasted opportunity

The Structure of the Inner-Instrument (Antahkarana)

To understand who we truly are (atma) versus what we are not (anatma), we must understand our inner instrument:

1. Manas (Emotional Mind)
   • Generates emotional responses to sensory inputs
   • Serves as an indicator of what is to be done
   • Often distorted by childhood/lifetime conditioning. EG: A natural desire for security becomes an obsession with money due to conditioning
2. Buddhi (Intellect)
   • The ability to understand, analyze, and make connections
   • Solves problems and discerns
   • Connects the dots and makes sense of experiences
3. Chitta (Memory Storage)
   • Contains both conscious memory (5% of decisions) and unconscious memory (95%)
   • Unconscious conditioning dictates most of our reactions. EG: A child who received less attention than their handicapped sibling stores “I am not loved” in the unconscious, which later affects adult relationships
4. Ahamkara (I-sense)
   • Takes your emotions, thoughts, and memories and stamps them as “mine”
   • Makes it appear as though experiences (generated by the manas/buddhi/chitta) are happening to you (all-pervading Awareness) from one standpoint

Why We Can't Truly Live in the Present Moment

• The empirical design of our mind is mostly past-oriented (95% unconscious)
• We need memory to function (language, behavior, skills)
• The future-oriented thinking is necessary for planning and survival
• By the time sensory data reaches consciousness, a few milliseconds have passed

Your True Nature

• You are not the changing aspects (manas, buddhi, chitta, ahamkara)
• You are the unchanging presence in which all changes are known
• This conscious principle remains constant while all experiences change

NEXT VERSE: Arjuna asks “Is there a person in the world who lives a life of karma-yoga and also knows nature of Atma?”. This person is called sthita-prajna – One whose knowledge remains unbroken and firm throughout life situations.

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Course was based on Swami Dayananda (Arsha Vidya) home study course.

Recorded 2 March, 2025