The Direct Path of Sri Atmananda | Greg Goode

[@Larcey]

I'm a big fan of Greg Goode. I hope you get him back. Thank you Swamiji 🙏

[@Tom_Torres]

❤ Greg Goode ❤

[@johnj6317]

Pranam Swamiji. Thank you for inviting Mr. Goode to the Vedanta Society’s podium. It is valuable to hear another angle of the practical application of Advaita Vedanta. With the red rubber ball example in the exploration of “seeing” I am reminded of the “ patch of color and shape” inquiry in Swami’s Vedanta lectures. The Truth is One with infinite ways to point to it. Thank you Greg for also referencing Sri Atmananda’s teachings. Good job

[@anagha.aniruddha16]

Pranam Swami Sarvapriyanandaji Maharaj 🙏🏻 Pranam Greg Goode Sir🙏🏻 Thank you Vedanta Society of New York for sharing this video 🌹

[@EdGabrielsen]

❤So happy to see this, thank you! I'm so grateful for this teaching lineage, and for Greg's wonderful presentation. "If we are awareness, then the world is miraculous."❤ 3:15

[@keithoyoung34]

Thanks Greg!!!!

[@sajafendel]

Greg is awesome. Where can I meet this dude for an illusory coffee?

[@rajukunjukrishnan472]

Pranam Swamiji🙏

[@kerrydubord5273]

When I see a tree ,I see the awareness within a tree, when I see a ball, I see only matter that is inert, there is no life only substance. I see awareness within all living functions as the self same. That single self unseen to everyone is awareness consciousness alone. Before all occurrence, awareness is ever the forefront of that single being of consciousness alone. I agree with some of the comments, the speaker certainly came across as a text book approach, his desire to teach is noticed but of experience this lacked in a sense. He presented much food for thought and information but as we try to picture what is coined I hope we all find what surpasses all knowledge, that is peace, that is consciousness alone, saturated in the unturning page of existence.

[@terefefeyssa877]

You are wrong

[@mikeaaron2819]

What Swamiji says after Greg has spoken is very true in that if one has a foundation in Vedanta, then the “direct path” is easier to understand.

[@shreeyoga]

Very nicely explained, thank you so much

[@shaiblerealtor]

Brilliant!

[@guysweenie]

I am disappointed that Greg did not do the justice of explaining the foundation of the direct path! I have heard him in the past, describe in very clear terms but he seemed to be far off the base in this presentation. Atmananda was very specific and clear on why there are no gross /physical objects. The gist of this is that consciousness can only recognize consciousness. When we see an object the mechanics involved is that the gross is transformed into subtle object through the sensors like eye ears etc. The mind which can only recognize subtle objects which now is in thought form of the object sensed that is now perceived. Thus by reducing objects into consciousness you come to the brink of experience. Reduce them further where the object and 'You' the subject merge into experience itself! So what you find is only your true Self; the 'seeing' and 'Objects" become empty words. Hence world is only a thought form by this explanation! This proves that the objective world has no existence, Independently of the Subject I or Consciousness!! This is usually the starting point and the foundational stone of Direct Path.

[@mulleader]

Does anyone know where or how to study more of this in the UK?

[@cessrcd]

There’s a Chinmaya Mission in Hendon that has Vedanta satsanga , kirtan and study

[@snigdhodebsinha2089]

Vedanta Society , Bourne End . Also you can attend talks of Rupert Spira

[@keithoyoung34]

Try Greg’s books. They are very helpful.

[@chemzard]

Can you interrogate "witness"? And if yes, "who" is interrogating the witness? And if "no", then how is knowledge generated?

[@deedhesi8014]

Far too many presuppositions in your statement - think about it.

[@himanshudwivedi1313]

Knowledge is very nature of brahman"

[@mikeaaron2819]

Self knowledge is “self generating light” or pure consciousness and when objects appear is sakshi or the non-experiencing witness. Your presumption is that knowledge is dualistic and needs something other than itself to know itself..

[@himanshudwivedi1313]

...👍

[@Legion6363]

Presence--pre sense

[@ravindramurthy3486]

With all due respects Dr. Goode, your statement at 21:15 is not true at all. Advaita Vedanta does not demand belief in scriptural authority nor an eminent intellect. Afterall our sages arrived at these truths using Life experience and no other tool. Vedanta asks of those who come to this, to conduct an enquiry based upon the individual seeker's life experience and arrive conclusively at the ultimate Truth. Upanishads are the only sources that have pointed out the impersonal nature of Witnessing Consciousness to the humanity; but they again point to life as the basis upon which this truth is arrived at. I am surprised that no one in the audience pointed it out to him. I recognize these terms such as Direct path or some other path, may be given provisional concession during teaching. In the ultimate analysis, the so-called journey from "me" to "I" is a pathless one, much less direct or indirect!!

[@mikeaaron2819]

He doesn’t say belief and Vedanta *does* say that scripture is king because it is the condensed impersonal knowledge that is taken from thousands if not millions of subjective scientists over thousands of years which contains every angle possible to and from ignorance to awareness.

[@ravindramurthy3486]

@@mikeaaron2819 I am sorry, I do not understand what you are trying to convey.

[@tonydaniels6352]

Nirvikalpa samadhi alone is the direct path to Self Realization.

[@mikeaaron2819]

This is not true as Vedanta says the Self is self evident with or without samadhi states or any experience. The Self is everything that is and is everything you experience and know is the Self whether you realise it or not and whether or not you realise it.

[@tonydaniels6352]

@mikeaaron2819 if you don't realize it then by definition it's not Self-realization is it?

[@vedprakashtiwari6438]

Hello

[@rapisode1]

There is no real substance in the direct path. If there are no definitions there are no pointers, without pointers it cannot be taught correctly. It hampers from the fact that they deliberately deny vedantic concepts such as maya. But you see, when they get into a difficult argument, they DO start to use these terms. The problem that i have with this is that they often do not state that Vedanta is actually their source of knowledge. In general, I do not accept westerners using Hindu concepts such as yoga and Vedanta because they are not equipped with an eastern mind to fully comprehend it.

[@vedprakashtiwari6438]

Who can get us rid of the Maya which is equally powerful as bhagwan himself? It's the grace of bhagwan only that can get us rid of Maya and to get the grace of bhagwan the first step is to achieve the purity of heart/mind through devotion to the bhagwan and that's the end of our ability.There is nothing that we can do further and the Maya is still there on us. Only fools can ignore Maya which has authority on us for eternity and which is as powerful as the bhagwan...

[@OctoBox]

I'm a westerner and I agree -- I don't want season-less veggies in my curry bowl.

[@ravindramurthy3486]

@@vedprakashtiwari6438 I respectfully disagree with you 1. How can Maya be equally powerful as Bhagwan himself, unless you believe Bhagwan is not omnipotent. 2. There is a self-contradictory point in your writing. If Maya is equally powerful , how can Bhagwan get rid of Maya. In actuality, Maya is a mere theoretical concept offered to pacify an intellect which craves for explanations in causality. Where there is Avidya, Maya is. When knowledge dawns, both Avidya and Maya automatically drop off as non-entities. With dawn of knowledge you recognize that "YOU" are nothing but Divinity (Bhagwan) , transcending ignorance (avidya), knowledge, Maya and all the rest of it.

[@vedprakashtiwari6438]

@@ravindramurthy3486 OK! I'll give you answer based on Vedanta. Maya~ Maya (माया) is one of the powers of Brahma-Supreme God. It is fully controlled by God. मायां तु प्रकृतिं मायिनं तु महेश्वरम् । तस्यावयव भूतैस्तु व्यापतं सर्वमिदं जगत।। श्वेता. 4.10 Māyāṁ tu prakr̥tiṁ māyinaṁ tu mahēśvaram. Tasyāvayava bhūtaistu vyāpataṁ sarvamidaṁ jagata.. Śvētā. 4.10 Brahma (ब्रह्म) - Supreme God is the master of three major powers: Jeev, or individual soul, Maya is an inert power of God, and Para Shakti, or most intimate and personal power of God. God and Jeev (or soul) are conscious (endowed with life). But Maya is not sentient. It is inert. Maya, is called an external power of God, and it cannot do anything by itself, since unlike God it is neither divine nor conscious. Yet it performs wondrous things (like creating this universe) since it is governed by Almighty God. Karnarnavshayi Mahavishnu looked at Maya and it started moving as if it has life. Thus this insignificant, inert and external power of God is so mighty that even those possessing great knowledge are also afraid of it. In other words it is as powerful as God, since it is governed by God Himself. Modes of Maya Maya is endowed with three material modes: Sattva Guna Sattva guna is the material mode of righteousness. Sattva guna is predominant in celestial Gods and Goddesses (देवी-देवता). Love, purity, sympathy, benevolence, philanthropy etc. virtues are the sign of Sattva guna or superior mode of Maya. Rajas Guna Rajas guna (Material mode of Passion): Rajas mode is predominant in human beings. To help others, being honest, forbearing and sympathetic to an extent, without harming ones self-interest, are the signs of Rajas mode of Maya. It means that these kinds of people are neither considered 'very good' nor 'very bad'. Tamas Guna Tamas guna (Material mode of demonic dark tendencies): Tamas guna promotes darkness, destruction and ignorance and is predominant in devious beings. Individuals, who are extremely selfish, angry, dishonest, cruel, unfaithful and destructive, fall in this category. Manifestation of Maya~ The Sansaar-The World is manifestation (is created by) of Maya. Every material thing, is inert, transitory and ever changing. Our body is made of Panch Mahabhoot (five material gross elements) and that is why our body is also temporary and ever changing. It comes into being one day, grows, ages, dies and decays. It is so since the body is inert. These physical bodies are seen performing numerous actions (like seeing, hearing, touching, thinking, smelling, deciding etc) and therefore are believed to be conscious. But truth be told, body does not perform actions on its own accord. The Jeev (soul) lives in the heart and provides consciousness to the whole body. Just like a lamp provides light to all parts of the room. Understand it with this example: A table is not sentient, yet it moves from one corner to another or from one room to another room. How? It moves only when live hands push the table around. These hands get consciousness from the mind. The mind is also not sentient, but it gets consciousness from the intellect. The intellect is also insentient. It gets consciousness from the soul and the soul gets consciousness from the Supreme Soul. The Supreme Soul who is Almighty God is the source of all consciousness. This is the reason that when the soul leaves the body, the body dies. Due to the consciousness of the Soul, which dwells in the heart and provides consciousness to the entire body, the body is “alive”. Thus, Maya is an inert power of God, which is thoroughly controlled by Almighty God. The entire world is made of Maya. Even our senses, mind and intellect are material. Soul is divine and master of the senses, mind and intellect. It wants to attain divine happiness according to its inherent nature, but its servants (mind, intellect etc.) are material; they are ignorant of what divine happiness is or how to attain it. Maya awakens us by giving us hardships caused by other material beings and things to help us realize, ‘They do not belong to you. You are not the body; you are the soul immortal and divine like your origin God. Why are you increasing your attachment to them? Second, all others (material beings) are also searching for happiness, so give up expecting happiness from them. All material beings are beggars like you.’ So what should we do? Go to the one who has achieved happiness and is free from bondage of Maya. With a surrendered mind, serve Him, and ask proper questions to enhance your spiritual knowledge. He (a God-realized Saint) will satisfy you with proper guidance to lead you towards God who is true happiness. तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया । उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्तवदर्शिनः।। गी. 3.34 Tadvid'dhi praṇipātēna paripraśnēna sēvayā. Upadēkṣyanti tē jñānaṁ jñāninastattavadarśinaḥ. Gita 3.34 तस्माद् गुरुं प्रद्येत जिज्ञासुः श्रेय उत्तमम्। शाब्देपरे च निष्णातं ब्रह्मण्युपशमाश्रयम् । भा11.3.21 Tasmād guruṁ pradyēta jijñāsuḥ śrēya uttamam. Śābdēparē ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇyupaśamāśrayam. Bhā 11.3.21 Bhagavan-Shri Krishna said,"Submit to a God-realized saint and humbly ask questions to clarify your spiritual doubts." One's grim experiences of life are due to one's attachments to the world of Maya. Maya itself is not bad or miserable; Maya brings to the forefront the true behavior of the material beings thus it helps us to let go of our attachments. Material people or things are not the cause of ones miseries either. Instead it is false expectations of achieving happiness from material people and things that makes one miserable. One needs to affirm the knowledge that God is happiness and is the sole source of happiness. Hence, redirect one's mental attachments to God. Repeatedly reaffirm that He is the only true source of all kinds of happiness. The firmer the resolve in one's mind the greater is natural detachment from Maya. And equal percentage of attachment to God (unlimited ocean of happiness) will happen automatically. Lord Krishna said in Srimad Bhagavat Gita - दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया । मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्तिते।। गीता 7.14 Daivī hyēṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā. Māmēva yē prapadyantē māyāmētāṁ tarantitē.. Gītā 7.14 “Maya is My personal power, which is controlled by Me. Hence, one has to win over Me to win over Maya. I am invincible, thus Maya is also invincible. Yet the one who surrenders himself completely unto Me, becomes free from Maya and attains My grace.” In conclusion, God has two kinds of servants :His Saints who coach us on how to rectify our lives and to assist in attaining our goal of unlimited divine happiness. They lovingly guide and try to infuse true knowledge in one's mind. The goal of this is to detach us from the wrong path of attaining happiness.But, if one refuses to listen to the good servants of God, the strict servant Maya comes forth and shows the real nature of the world (one's family members, friends and relatives) by bringing their true intent to the forefront. In those moments when friends and family drop their facade and reveal their real intent for demonstrating all the love and affection, it makes one dissatisfied and unhappy with the world. It is then that they realize the truth of the words of those Saints and turn towards God.

[@vedprakashtiwari6438]

@@ravindramurthy3486 Question: Scriptures tell us that Maya and jeev are the powers of God (Brahm). Since both of these powers belong to God, then why is one of those powers (Maya) more powerful than the other power (jeev). And so powerful that since eternity Maya has dominated jeev. Why and how is it so? Answer: Before we answer this question let us understand the three terms used in this question. There are only three eternal entities - Brahma - Supreme God (ब्रह्म​) is sacchidananda. It means He is the reservoir of unlimited sat (consciousness), chit (knowledge) and anand (bliss). Jeev (जीव): All living beings are a fraction of sat - God’s power of consciousness. Being part of the power of consciousness, jeev (soul) eternal and divine, is conscious and endowed with knowledge and happiness. Being an infinitesimally small part of God’s power of consciousness, jeev possesses infinitesimally small consciousness, knowledge and happiness as compared to God. Maya (माया): The third entity Maya is also a power of God and, unlike us, it is inert. The entire Sansaar-The World is the manifestation of Maya. Anywhere, anything which is lifeless is a manifestation of Maya. All the work of Maya is carried out by God Himself. That’s why none can overcome Maya on their own. As Shri Krishna says in Gita- दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया । मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्तिते।। गीता 7.14 Daivī hyēṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā. Māmēva yē prapadyantē māyāmētāṁ tarantitē.. Gītā 7.14 Since eternity, jeev has chosen Maya over God “This Maya is My power. It consists of the three gunas and no-one can overcome it on their own. Only those who are fully surrendered to Me are able to cross this ocean of Maya by My grace.” Even though Maya and jeev are eternal they are not independent. The Supreme Brahma (ब्रह्म​) is the master of these two entities. All these three entities are eternal which means they do not have a beginning nor end. Also, nobody created them and nobody can destroy any of them. The jeev is in a very unique position, situated in-between Maya and God. It is endowed with intellect and has been granted the option of choosing between them. Since eternity, jeev has chosen Maya over God, yet the ever-merciful God has not abandoned the jeev. On the contrary, God continues to provide the jeev an opportunity to change sides at any time. Those who ultimately choose the path of God attain unlimited divine bliss while those who don't continue to be sad, mad, glad etc. God resides in the heart of all living beings and notes down their thoughts and ideas. He awaits for the moment when the jeev would give-up the allurement of Maya and turn towards Him. Once the soul turns towards Him, God does not spare even a fraction of a second in bestowing His divine grace on the soul. Since eternity jeev has desired for material pleasures and has been reinforcing it in the countless past lives. Though, the experience of each jeev is that attainment of these desires leads to greed and non-attainment leads to anger. All individual souls (jeev) experience the pain resulting from desires, numerous times within each lifetime, yet they do not give-up running behind Maya. Ignorantly, we continue to expect happiness from the inert objects of the world. Reflect, how can an inert object become the cause of happiness or misery to any one! It is our expectation from the world which causes us pain and suffering. You can compare this to the phenomenon of churning limestone water and getting upset for not getting butter from it. God has revealed this same truth in the Vedas. God descends on this earth numerous times and sends His saints to propagate the same well-known secret. Yet, jeev insists on sticking to his preconceived notions. So can God or Maya be held responsible for the choices that the jeev makes? To make it easy to explain, it is generally said that “jeev has been overpowered by Maya”. This statement is however not entirely true. The truth is that “jeev has eternally held on to Maya as his own and is suffering from the consequences of the choices he has made”. The attributes of Maya are vices like anger, greed, jealousy, hatred and many more. Just like when you stand in a room with a green light then your white clothes also seem to be green in color. Similarly, since we are standing in the realm of Maya, so we forget our true self and get engulfed with the vices of Maya. Maya is inert (जड़), it has no capability to dominate anyone. The jeev holds on to it so tight that even the divine words of God cannot convince jeev to give up the hope of finding happiness in the world. We are so deluded that we don’t realize the worldly matters temporarily please the senses only; not the soul. Jeev is divine. A divine entity cannot be satisfied by the material matters. This is the reason why any amount of material possessions have yet to quench anyone's desires. A billionaire's reason for unhappiness might be different from that of a beggar, yet the fact of the matter is that both beggar and billionaire (and everyone in the middle) are unhappy. In a nutshell, out of ignorance jeev has been embracing Maya. To break free, the jeev will have to just let go off Maya. As soon as we truly assimilate the fact that:I (soul) am eternal and divine; the body (along with senses, mind and intellect) is mine and is ever changing and perishable. I am the master of the senses and it is I who seeks happiness. Senses (along with mind and intellect) are working hard to provide happiness to me but fail miserably because they do not have a clue of what will please me. So, I need an authentic guide to educate me on where and how to find happiness. Shri Krishna illustrated the only way to attain this knowledge in Gita - तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया । उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्तवदर्शिनः।। गी. 4.34 Tadvid'dhi praṇipātēna paripraśnēna sēvayā. Upadēkṣyanti tē jñānaṁ jñāninastattavadarśinaḥ. Gita 4.34 “Seek a saint (see Saint or Imposter) who possesses the knowledge of the scriptures and is also a God-realized soul. Approach such a saint with a completely surrendered mind. Humbly ask him questions to satisfy your inquisitive mind and serve him selflessly. Then by his grace you would attain the precise direction to reach Me”. This deep rooted knowledge (stated above) when understood well and practiced is capable of reducing and eventually eliminating the afflictions caused by material attachments and grant eternal bliss. If one does not do this, then it does not matter which rituals or expedients one performs. If one has resolved not to renounce the attachments of Maya and continues to pursue worldly wealth, parents, spouse, siblings and friends etc then one cannot get divine happiness. तपस्विनो दानपरा यशस्विनो मनस्विनो मंत्रविदः सुमङ्लाः । क्षेमं न विन्दन्ति बिना यदर्पणं तस्मै सुभद्रश्रवसे नमो नमः ॥ भाग २.४.१७ tapasvino dānaparā yaśasvino manasvino maṃtravidaḥ sumaṅlāḥ । kṣemaṃ na vindanti binā yadarpaṇaṃ tasmai subhadraśravase namo namaḥ ॥ bhāga 2.4.17 “Any amount of austerity, alms, fame, yoga or power of mantra cannot deliver one from the bondage of Maya. Submitting yourself to God is the only way”. Finally, it is incorrect to accuse Maya (or God) for our miseries. Just turn away from Maya and seek pleasure in God. The unlimited personified Bliss(God) awaits to receive you with open arms. माया ने जीव को नहीं पकड़ा, जीव ने माया को पकड़ा है । जैसे कोई कहे कंबल ने हमें पकड़ा । अरे गधे कंबल तो जड़ है । कंबल किसी को कैसे पकड़ेगा ? तूने कंबल को पकड़ा है, तू कंबल को छोड़ दे बस हो गया । Maya is not holding on to jeev. Jeev is holding on to Maya. Just like a blanket cannot hold a person, the person holds on to the blanket. Let go of the blanket and you can be free of it.

[@jpf.5956]

I wasn't expecting a board meeting type of a presentation on the direct path. What's up with the dark suit, the necktie and mostly the big corporate america attitude...? and the presentation itself is unsettled, nervous, the presenter reading mostly through bullet-point format documents.... Spira and Lucille are not really joyful either, but at least they're not so nervous and do transmit something.

[@davlmt]

He might have been intimidated to talk about the direct path to an audience of vedantins