Satsang is a compound Sanskrit word that means “keeping the company of the Self.” The Self, Awareness, is the true nature of everyone and one keeps company with it by continually meditating on it in many ways. One of the most effective methods involves discussing non-dual teachings with someone who has realized his or her identity as the Self, to get clarity with reference to Self inquiry. The satsangs posted here are the questions of many people around the world who are interested in enlightenment and find that Vedanta is their preferred means of Self knowledge. Since I am a teacher of Vedanta, a time tested means of self inquiry, I am qualified to reply to these questions.Search & Read
ShiningWorld Reader
The Dream Is All You
Mahindra: Dear Sundariji/Jamesji, namaste!
After enlightenment, when the physical world looks like a dream world (so to say), what can be the motivation for a person to work in this dream world? Why should he/she bother about sustaining the body at all? Krishna apparently implies that such a person has no specific motivation in the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter III, verse 18.
Please share your views if possible.
~ Kind regards, Mahindra
Sundari: Hello, Mahindra. The answer is: Why should you not take care of the body or enjoy the apparent reality – it is all you, is it not?
The world and the body are only apparently real, but once one knows that duality is a superimposition onto non-duality, you enjoy the objects for what they are – all that changes is the way you contact objects. You no longer depend on them nor do you seek them for fulfilment or joy, because you are already full and the source of the joy. This is the only time you truly enjoy objects because you can do so without fear of loss or need for gain. And enjoyment is good. It is only attachment to objects, or seeking them thinking that you need them to be whole, that causes suffering.
Life is a beautiful thing; it is a gift to be here, so enjoy the reflection of yourself in all things – because if there is nothing but you, then the world is the self, so it is no longer a dream, not so? We have great love for life in all its forms and we live with gratitude and devotion to Isvara. This is the point of moksa: to be free of the jiva and to live free AS the jiva. As the self, after all, you have always been free.
~ Namaste, Sundari