How do we define religion? Why is it important for us to understand the difference between the subjective and objective mind or the mind and the awareness behind it? Why should we, instead of conversing with our mind, simply take a step back, be aware of it, and understand that we don't have to involve ourselves in every single conversation related to it?
Tune in and follow me as I explore the difference between the subjective and objective mind and introduce the setting for the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important philosophical texts of Hinduism, applicable to all who wish to improve themselves!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
What defines religion in terms of the actions that we do?
(00:06):
Why is it important for us to understand the difference between the subjective and objective mind,
or the mind and our awareness behind it?
And why should we, instead of conversing with our mind, simply take a step back, be aware of it,
and understand that we do not have to involve ourselves in every single conversation related to it.
(00:32):
Hello and welcome back to Stoic Spirituality, a podcast where I look through, analyze, and dissect various books,
concepts, and experiences that I had throughout the last few years.
My name is Jagan and I'm a student of the human experience trying to spread some knowledge out to the rest of the world.
So this episode is going to have a few purposes.
(00:55):
I want to cover a bit about the idea that we are not really the mind, but we are the awareness behind the mind.
I want to illustrate the idea of a subject-object relationship with our mind.
And I kind of want to finish off by setting up future episodes by introducing the setting at which the Bhagavad Gita,
(01:18):
one of the most famous and prominent texts in the Hindu religion, manifests.
I kind of want to go over the great epic Mahabharata in very small detail and discuss at what point this divine song,
this celestial song given by Krishna, in this case is a manifestation of the Godhead to Arjuna,
(01:45):
who is someone who was lost to his quote-unquote senses and has felt very dejected in his overall countenance and his unwillingness to fight a just war.
So first, I want to discuss the idea of religion.
So a lot of religion has traditions, it has customs, it has words that have vibrations, things we adhere to, it has sacred texts, right?
(02:14):
But one thing we should take a look at religion as, as a philosophy in action.
Because a lot of what religion tells us is very unitary, not dependent on the religion.
It tells us to work towards our actions without attachment.
It tells us to love others, not for their status or their title or the power they hold, but for their connection as human beings.
(02:39):
It tells us in many religions that we are onto this earth or we come onto this earth with a basic dysfunction.
In Christianity, it is called the original sin.
In Hinduism, it is called Maya.
And in Buddhism, it is called Dukkha or suffering.
And so this kind of basic dysfunction we arrive onto this earth with, the overall purpose of this life,
(03:05):
whether or not you believe in reincarnation or not, is to surpass this dysfunction and become whole.
And it may manifest in different ways depending on the religion.
In terms of Hinduism, it has to do more with connecting to yourself.
Connecting not to like the self or the physical body, but the soul, the self that is deep inherent inside of you.
(03:32):
Because in Hindu religion, the belief is not that we are limited to just this one life with our soul and our body,
but rather that our body is like a pair of clothes and our soul is inherently who we are.
And so we go through many lives, many reincarnations, many rebirths with this idea in mind that we have an inherent soul.
(03:59):
And we go across many different lands, many different continents, or many different settings
with our one goal of releasing all the karmic energy, not good or bad, just karmic energy that we have inside of us.
Chipping away at the impressions or vasanas that are inside of us to reach a state of enlightenment,
(04:22):
to reach a state of becoming one with the Godhood, and to reach this idea of moksha or liberation.
So, to kind of go a little bit into it, the idea is that there is an objective mind in Hinduism and there is a subjective mind.
And so the objective mind is the outer one and the subjective mind is the inner one.
(04:44):
And the difference between both of these is the ego.
And the way we kind of reduce the difference or like make them come closer together to snap into harmony is by reducing our impressions or vasanas.
So, through our many senses, we take in a lot of information.
We take in a lot of visual, auditory, olfactory, and many other stimuli that enter our mind.
(05:13):
And so what happens is, in an ideal world, in an enlightened self space, all the stimuli we take in, may it be other people's words,
may it be other people's judgments or impressions, they hold no standing in our mind.
They are simply deflected off or they skate away. They cannot gain any purchase in our mind, causing us to spiral down a thought loop,
(05:38):
or causing us to make a judgment, or fixate upon something, remind us of something, and cause us to make an impression.
So, the Hinduistic term for this is vasanas.
And how we volatilize the mind, reduce the distance between our objective and subjective mind, is by removing or reducing these vasanas.
(06:03):
It requires a lot of mental changes, and it requires a lot of dedicated work to reach this point,
but in order to become enlightened, this is a necessity.
One other thing is that religion makes us think, especially some parts of Hinduism make us think that actions are to be avoided,
(06:25):
you are supposed to be apathetic or indifferent to the world around you, and deny the world of objects,
deny the idea of pleasures being around you or things that make you happy, and choose the path of renunciation, also known as a sannyasi's path.
But, that's not how the regular world works.
There is an option for everyone to renounce everything and give it up and go to the forest and find themselves in meditation,
(06:52):
but a lot of us will not do that.
Maybe that, a lot of us would like to live the lives we are in and stay dedicated to the path that we are finding ourselves on.
Given by that, we have to know and acknowledge that actions are not to be avoided in this world,
and the world of objects around us, sense objects, are not to be denied.
(07:14):
However, if we make use of our actions effectively, which by this it means to reduce our attachment to said actions,
if we strive selflessly for the betterment of society, the betterment of others,
and we embark upon actions and we reduce the amount of attachments we have,
(07:39):
that decrease our mental state, that cause our energy to be depleted, and that reduce our overall path towards enlightenment or the becoming of a better person,
we exhaust our mental dirt, we get rid of these impressions or vasanas, and we work towards a path of detachment.
(08:03):
And remember, one other point is that one illustration or one aspect that is part of these sense objects, these impressions that are made, are emotions.
So when we see something that reminds us of a situation or a negative person, or something that causes us to maybe retract or go down a thought loop of negativity,
(08:30):
it's important to understand that these emotions are the ones that we have to work towards addressing.
Finding ourself to the root of the cause, which creates these emotions, and kind of chipping away at the root of many of our negative emotions,
(08:53):
many of our impressions, and many of the overall negative energy that we manifest in this world.
So, now that we've kind of covered a little bit about religion, let's go into the idea of the voice in our head.
So for the majority of the population, everyone has an internal dialogue, a constant mental dialogue that never really stops talking.
(09:20):
To kind of connect it to what I said before about emotions, say you're driving around on the freeway and you see a red car, and this red car is a Prius, for example.
And this red Prius reminds you of a past relationship. It reminds you of someone you harbor resentment towards, someone who maybe at work caused the problem for you.
(09:42):
This voice will see that red Prius will imagine or take itself back to that scenario, or reimagine or reinvigorate the emotion of betrayal,
the emotion of anger, the emotion of sadness, and it will try to drag you in with it.
(10:06):
The way I'm describing this is that your mind is a part of you, but it is not really you, because the real you is the one who is observant of the mind.
The one who notices this thought pattern sees that it is not very helpful, it's more destructive, and chooses to simply be aware of it.
(10:28):
In Hinduism and other religions, you may call it the self, the presence or the awareness behind the mind.
In examining this mind voice, the one that a lot of people associate as a true identity, it's important to understand oneself.
Because this voice has the ability to take any side in any conversation, it is always present and never knows how to quiet down.
(10:53):
Because to this mind, or from books like The Power of Now, this ego, all it requires is survival.
It needs a comfortable place to rest and think or sit and do nothing, but that's just an elusive fact.
And by trying to silence this voice, by trying to yell at it, or by trying to suppress it, simply by bringing another voice, is just the same ego talking in a different form.
(11:26):
Taking another side for its own survival.
So the question that arises then is how do you break free of this mind voice?
How do you break free of this constant chatter that runs in your brain that never knows when to stop or how to stop?
And that comes back from stepping back, rather. Freedom comes from stepping back and viewing the mind objectively.
(11:51):
It doesn't come from getting subjectively mad at it, or asking it to be quiet, or requesting it to calm down the voices in your head, but it simply requires awareness.
Noticing this voice in your head, the one that has all these thoughts continually pervading in your head, is easy, but recognizing it as a separate entity that doesn't define who you are is challenging and is very different from noticing it.
(12:20):
And the real growth that happens in our lives to get rid of these vasanas that I discussed about, or these impressions, are to notice the voice, understand that you are not it, but you are rather the one who hears it.
The power of now talks a lot about using the mind as a tool.
So a lot of us cannot distinguish the difference between the awareness, or who we actually are, and the mind that is a tool.
(12:49):
And so, as people, to reach a state of peace, inner peace, and non-detachment, the first thing that must be done is noticing the separation between the two.
Because a lot of what the voice says is unnecessary energy consuming. For instance, let's go back to the previous example.
Which part of any of the dialogue you may or may not have had that reminds you of resentment, betrayal, or sadness is necessary?
(13:18):
How much of that dialogue really was productive and really created a lot of change in the way you saw things, the way you moved about the world, and the way you even thought of anything?
The only thing it might have done is reduced or dropped your mood slightly.
So it's important to establish that much of what this voice, this kind of mind, this tool that you have, is saying is unnecessary and energy consuming.
(13:46):
And drawing back to Stoic philosophy, a lot of the problems in our mind, the problems in our life, come not from the problem itself, but our perception of it.
The mind's commotion about it, the ego's refusal to let go of it, and our attachment to it.
A lot of us define ourselves with the problems we face, by the suffering we endure, and by the pain we have taken upon ourselves.
(14:11):
So it's important to understand that while it is a defining part of who you are, it is not the only thing that describes who you are.
This inner voice usually manifests as a result of an excess energy buildup.
It results due to the unnecessary time consuming and energy consuming aspect of the mind circulates around everything you do.
(14:38):
If you say for instance, like hit your foot against something on accident.
There are two ways you can go about understanding or reacting to this.
You can temporarily allow yourself to be like, oh no, hit my foot, and then go on with life.
Or you can allow yourself to compound upon it, say how bad your day is, fuel and create this world of suffering,
(15:06):
by having your mind beat itself up over and over again.
Remember, the voice tries to seek purchase and tries to put a label around everything to feel comfortable, to feel like you can step back.
Because say for instance, you're still driving around, you see the red Prius.
(15:27):
What it tries to do is instead of taking the red Prius in for what it is, it tries to label it.
It tries to put a box around it by giving it a name, by associating memory with it, by trying to understand or perceive the world in its own small confines.
By trying to understand it or try to make it a little more workable.
(15:48):
However, if you were to just simply take a step back, not allow your mind to try to label something and just be present in the moment,
you will find a greater sense of beauty, an increased non-attachment, and a greater sense of happiness from just existing.
And so what I mentioned before is the idea of the inner voice arising due to excess energy buildup.
(16:14):
A lot of us wake up with a lot of energy in ourselves, provided we sleep well.
And so what happens is we tend towards anxiety based thoughts, ones that are repetitive and necessary.
And the inner voice that the mind has thrives on this excess energy.
Because it allows itself to flit from thought to thought to topic to topic, taking whichever and whatever side the ego can manifest as,
(16:40):
simply for it to exist or live.
So we kind of covered as a summary, the idea of avoiding actions, repressing emotions,
understanding the internal voice doesn't really define who we are,
(17:02):
focusing on the awareness behind the mind, not the voice,
using the mind as a tool and examining this tool to see what it says that is important, viable, and necessary,
and what is unnecessary, understanding that this ego, this mind, these kind of thoughts we have, are not defining.
(17:25):
Every single point or thought we have doesn't need to be judged or analyzed.
It can simply exist, and as long as you don't give it purchase, it will disappear by itself.
And remember, the real growth that happens in our life comes from discovering that we are the awareness behind the mind,
not the mind.
(17:46):
Understand that this inner world that we are inside is controllable.
The only thing we can control, as Marcus Rulius says, is the quality of our thoughts.
Or, if an event happens to us, the only thing we can control is our judgment or reaction to it.
And, if we simply allow ourselves to control our inner world, to control this yappering mind that does not know how to stop talking,
(18:12):
we shape our own personal experience, we see the world in a more calmer, cooler light,
and when we choose not to narrate every single little thing with the attempt of putting a label on it,
we allow ourselves to be open and exposed to more of the beauty of life.
Our mind has served as a protection mechanism.
(18:36):
There is a lot in this world we cannot control, there is a lot in this world we do not know.
So, for the sake of comfort, a sake of happiness, or a sake of understanding,
the mind tries to box in something that cannot be boxed in.
It offers you a sense of security to live or operate in this chaotic space,
(18:57):
or in this chaotic world that we find ourselves a part of.
But, true growth has a lot to do with surpassing the part of you,
rather transcending the part of you that feels open, raw, and vulnerable and needs protection.
It is allowing yourself to put yourself out there, past this vulnerability,
(19:18):
and past the constant labeling that the mind needs to do, and simply just be present and exist.
And the primary way you do this is not by judgment, but rather by observation and awareness.
By being aware that you are not the voice that constantly rings in your head,
(19:42):
but you are rather the observer of said voice, is how you are going to get to that point.
And by having this awareness, you open a doorway into your true being, the self, the one behind the mind.
And that is one of the greatest mysteries of creation.
And that is how we find ourselves at the end of suffering.
(20:06):
Not by reaching this subsequent mountain that we are going to climb upon and finally feel happy,
not in any future event or not in any place that is not the present,
but it can only be found in the present, because that is all we have.
That is the only thing we can control, which is the quality of our thoughts in the present moment.
And the only thing we can do is trust in our future self to know what is right and what must be done.
(20:33):
But by consistently having an internal dialogue that ships away at whoever we really are,
that ships away at our mental energy, that ships away at our courage, our discipline, and our strength,
we do ourselves a major disservice.
But by having a subject-object relationship with your thoughts,
(20:54):
by realizing that you can be the person who observes them
and doesn't have to associate themselves with every single thought they have,
you take the next step towards having enlightenment, ending suffering, present only in the now.
So before we end this episode, I want to describe a little bit about the Bhagavad Gita
(21:16):
and the kind of setting for which this divine song is being sung.
So the Mahabharata is one of the two great epics of Hindu mythology.
It kind of circles around the idea of almost the good versus evil with major nuance in terms of the story.
(21:37):
So five brothers, the Pandavas, are born of Pandu, who is one of two brothers as a part of a kingdom.
First brother, first king is Pandu, second one is Dhritarashtra, who is a king who was blinded,
who was born blind and grew up blind as well.
(21:59):
So the five Pandavas are the sons of Pandu, who is the current king of Hastinapura.
And so Pandu and Dhritarashtra kind of both rule in this kingdom,
and at one point, while the five Pandavas grow up, Dhritarashtra also gets a boon with his wife, and he births 100 sons.
(22:26):
And so the overall Mahabharata builds up as the five Pandavas being kind of beacons of moral virtue,
each having separate qualities or unique qualities, and the Kauravas as their counterparts being more stuck in the idea of ego and arrogance.
(22:47):
So as they grow up, there's rivalries, and by one dice game, Yudhishthira, who is the eldest brother of the Pandavas,
loses half of his entire kingdom to the Kauravas and is forced to go into exile for 13 years before he receives his kingdom back,
(23:13):
with the 13th year being in incognito.
And so these 12 years pass, all five brothers build up other skills, live life, live through various ashrams,
which are places where saints are and where a lot of Vedic learning and sacrifices happen and rituals,
(23:36):
and then on the 13th year, they go incognito, asked to not be found by the Kauravas,
because the rule was that if they were found at the 13th year, they'd have to go for another 12 years into the forest.
So they survive all 13 years and they come back expecting their half of the kingdom to be given back to them.
However, Duryodhana, who is the main villain, quote unquote, and one of the eldest brothers of the Kauravas,
(24:04):
refuses to give them even one needle of land.
Regardless of the number of messengers that are sent and the number of attempts at peace talks, nothing happens.
And there the rastra, the king, is blinded by his love for his son, especially Duryodhana,
and a few other of his other sons, who are major characters in this epic.
(24:25):
So what ends up happening is that both sides prepare for war.
Pandavas reach out to as many of their allies as they can, bring them on, and have an army of their own, and so do the Kauravas.
So in this scene, both armies are amassed against each other,
(24:50):
and Arjuna, who is the focus of the Bhagavad Gita as the disciple, quote unquote,
with this charater as Krishna, who is the supreme godhead or an incarnation of Vishnu,
Arjuna asks if Krishna can move him to the middle of the battlefield,
so he can take a look at the warriors that he's going to be fighting against,
(25:15):
to get a sense of what is going to be happening, who is going to be fighting, and what he must do, and what tactics he must use.
So obligingly, Krishna moves him to the middle of the battlefield,
and what Arjuna sees on the other side are teachers, friends, people he grew up with,
and people he was close to and has great respect for on the other side.
(25:40):
And this obviously distresses him, because before, he may have thought that he was fighting for good, for the sake of justice and morality,
but by seeing all these people on the other side, he loses sense of what is real and what is not.
He gets major anxiety tremors, and wants to throw away his weapons and go and live back as an aesthetic,
(26:06):
to not have to endure the pain of killing all of his relatives, his family, his friends, and everyone he grew up with.
And so this kind of sets the stage for the Bhagavad Gita.
And so this song is narrated by Sanjaya, who is one of the messengers and advisors to Dhridhrashtra,
(26:27):
who had divine vision given to him by the gods for him to see what is happening around.
And so this third person perspective allows you to take a look at what Arjuna says,
and what Krishna replies in this divine song.
Because as soon as Arjuna loses and starts getting tremors,
feels like his weapons are slipping from his grip, Krishna frees his time to give this incredible lesson that is used extensively today.
(26:57):
And so that is the setting of the Bhagavad Gita.
And there's a lot of philosophy that is talked about that is secular in nature.
It isn't necessarily attached or contained to Hinduism, but can be majorly applicable,
which ties back to the point of religion being philosophy in action.
Religion doesn't necessarily have to be a set of customs or traditions that are followed through for the sake of following them.
(27:21):
They can rather be a philosophy for us to view the world, to understand the world around us, and to live to the best of our abilities.
And so the Bhagavad Gita with this setting of immense tremors from Arjuna,
this kind of disassociation from what is real and what is just,
losing a sense of the higher self and staying so grounded to ego and the body,
(27:47):
which does not really exist and cannot be harmed directly,
we are set up to understand how Krishna is going to work his way through the many philosophies,
such as Jnana Yoga, Yoga of Knowledge, Karma Yoga, Yoga of Karma, and work his way through illustrating these various points of life,
(28:12):
the non-attachment through which we must live, and the happiness we can then gain as a result of it.
So tune in in future episodes where I will start going through the many verses of the Bhagavad Gita,
pointing out various verses, thoughts, and quotes from there, and connecting it to Stoic thought,
(28:33):
spiritual books, and other ideas that I have thought about or built off of from this divine song.
The Bhagavad Gita remains one of the primary texts that are used illustrating philosophy of action,
the philosophy of living life, not renunciating it and living with apathy and indifference,
(28:57):
but rather taking in all the things that come into us in our life and not staying attached to all of it,
rather living in the world and not letting it live in us.
Thank you so much for listening to this episode on the idea that we are the voice that kind of watches over the mind,
(29:20):
and the awareness that we are is the one that watches over the mind,
and the idea of religion being philosophy and action,
and the non-attachment required to live without these impressions that dig ourselves and collect karma.
If you would like to hear more content, you can drop me a follow at StoicSpirituality on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
(29:46):
And if you would like to have one-on-one coaching, feel free to reach out to me
and book an appointment for a free sample session.
Thank you so much for listening, and see you guys next time.
What defines religion in terms of the actions that we do?
(00:06):
Why is it important for us to understand the difference between the subjective and objective mind,
or the mind and our awareness behind it?
And why should we, instead of conversing with our mind, simply take a step back, be aware of it,
and understand that we do not have to involve ourselves in every single conversation related to it.
(00:32):
Hello and welcome back to Stoic Spirituality, a podcast where I look through, analyze, and dissect various books,
concepts, and experiences that I had throughout the last few years.
My name is Jagan and I'm a student of the human experience trying to spread some knowledge out to the rest of the world.
So this episode is going to have a few purposes.
(00:55):
I want to cover a bit about the idea that we are not really the mind, but we are the awareness behind the mind.
I want to illustrate the idea of a subject-object relationship with our mind.
And I kind of want to finish off by setting up future episodes by introducing the setting at which the Bhagavad Gita,
(01:18):
one of the most famous and prominent texts in the Hindu religion, manifests.
I kind of want to go over the great epic Mahabharata in very small detail and discuss at what point this divine song,
this celestial song given by Krishna, in this case is a manifestation of the Godhead to Arjuna,
(01:45):
who is someone who was lost to his quote-unquote senses and has felt very dejected in his overall countenance and his unwillingness to fight a just war.
So first, I want to discuss the idea of religion.
So a lot of religion has traditions, it has customs, it has words that have vibrations, things we adhere to, it has sacred texts, right?
(02:14):
But one thing we should take a look at religion as, as a philosophy in action.
Because a lot of what religion tells us is very unitary, not dependent on the religion.
It tells us to work towards our actions without attachment.
It tells us to love others, not for their status or their title or the power they hold, but for their connection as human beings.
(02:39):
It tells us in many religions that we are onto this earth or we come onto this earth with a basic dysfunction.
In Christianity, it is called the original sin.
In Hinduism, it is called Maya.
And in Buddhism, it is called Dukkha or suffering.
And so this kind of basic dysfunction we arrive onto this earth with, the overall purpose of this life,
(03:05):
whether or not you believe in reincarnation or not, is to surpass this dysfunction and become whole.
And it may manifest in different ways depending on the religion.
In terms of Hinduism, it has to do more with connecting to yourself.
Connecting not to like the self or the physical body, but the soul, the self that is deep inherent inside of you.
(03:32):
Because in Hindu religion, the belief is not that we are limited to just this one life with our soul and our body,
but rather that our body is like a pair of clothes and our soul is inherently who we are.
And so we go through many lives, many reincarnations, many rebirths with this idea in mind that we have an inherent soul.
(03:59):
And we go across many different lands, many different continents, or many different settings
with our one goal of releasing all the karmic energy, not good or bad, just karmic energy that we have inside of us.
Chipping away at the impressions or vasanas that are inside of us to reach a state of enlightenment,
(04:22):
to reach a state of becoming one with the Godhood, and to reach this idea of moksha or liberation.
So, to kind of go a little bit into it, the idea is that there is an objective mind in Hinduism and there is a subjective mind.
And so the objective mind is the outer one and the subjective mind is the inner one.
(04:44):
And the difference between both of these is the ego.
And the way we kind of reduce the difference or like make them come closer together to snap into harmony is by reducing our impressions or vasanas.
So, through our many senses, we take in a lot of information.
We take in a lot of visual, auditory, olfactory, and many other stimuli that enter our mind.
(05:13):
And so what happens is, in an ideal world, in an enlightened self space, all the stimuli we take in, may it be other people's words,
may it be other people's judgments or impressions, they hold no standing in our mind.
They are simply deflected off or they skate away. They cannot gain any purchase in our mind, causing us to spiral down a thought loop,
(05:38):
or causing us to make a judgment, or fixate upon something, remind us of something, and cause us to make an impression.
So, the Hinduistic term for this is vasanas.
And how we volatilize the mind, reduce the distance between our objective and subjective mind, is by removing or reducing these vasanas.
(06:03):
It requires a lot of mental changes, and it requires a lot of dedicated work to reach this point,
but in order to become enlightened, this is a necessity.
One other thing is that religion makes us think, especially some parts of Hinduism make us think that actions are to be avoided,
(06:25):
you are supposed to be apathetic or indifferent to the world around you, and deny the world of objects,
deny the idea of pleasures being around you or things that make you happy, and choose the path of renunciation, also known as a sannyasi's path.
But, that's not how the regular world works.
There is an option for everyone to renounce everything and give it up and go to the forest and find themselves in meditation,
(06:52):
but a lot of us will not do that.
Maybe that, a lot of us would like to live the lives we are in and stay dedicated to the path that we are finding ourselves on.
Given by that, we have to know and acknowledge that actions are not to be avoided in this world,
and the world of objects around us, sense objects, are not to be denied.
(07:14):
However, if we make use of our actions effectively, which by this it means to reduce our attachment to said actions,
if we strive selflessly for the betterment of society, the betterment of others,
and we embark upon actions and we reduce the amount of attachments we have,
(07:39):
that decrease our mental state, that cause our energy to be depleted, and that reduce our overall path towards enlightenment or the becoming of a better person,
we exhaust our mental dirt, we get rid of these impressions or vasanas, and we work towards a path of detachment.
(08:03):
And remember, one other point is that one illustration or one aspect that is part of these sense objects, these impressions that are made, are emotions.
So when we see something that reminds us of a situation or a negative person, or something that causes us to maybe retract or go down a thought loop of negativity,
(08:30):
it's important to understand that these emotions are the ones that we have to work towards addressing.
Finding ourself to the root of the cause, which creates these emotions, and kind of chipping away at the root of many of our negative emotions,
(08:53):
many of our impressions, and many of the overall negative energy that we manifest in this world.
So, now that we've kind of covered a little bit about religion, let's go into the idea of the voice in our head.
So for the majority of the population, everyone has an internal dialogue, a constant mental dialogue that never really stops talking.
(09:20):
To kind of connect it to what I said before about emotions, say you're driving around on the freeway and you see a red car, and this red car is a Prius, for example.
And this red Prius reminds you of a past relationship. It reminds you of someone you harbor resentment towards, someone who maybe at work caused the problem for you.
(09:42):
This voice will see that red Prius will imagine or take itself back to that scenario, or reimagine or reinvigorate the emotion of betrayal,
the emotion of anger, the emotion of sadness, and it will try to drag you in with it.
(10:06):
The way I'm describing this is that your mind is a part of you, but it is not really you, because the real you is the one who is observant of the mind.
The one who notices this thought pattern sees that it is not very helpful, it's more destructive, and chooses to simply be aware of it.
(10:28):
In Hinduism and other religions, you may call it the self, the presence or the awareness behind the mind.
In examining this mind voice, the one that a lot of people associate as a true identity, it's important to understand oneself.
Because this voice has the ability to take any side in any conversation, it is always present and never knows how to quiet down.
(10:53):
Because to this mind, or from books like The Power of Now, this ego, all it requires is survival.
It needs a comfortable place to rest and think or sit and do nothing, but that's just an elusive fact.
And by trying to silence this voice, by trying to yell at it, or by trying to suppress it, simply by bringing another voice, is just the same ego talking in a different form.
(11:26):
Taking another side for its own survival.
So the question that arises then is how do you break free of this mind voice?
How do you break free of this constant chatter that runs in your brain that never knows when to stop or how to stop?
And that comes back from stepping back, rather. Freedom comes from stepping back and viewing the mind objectively.
(11:51):
It doesn't come from getting subjectively mad at it, or asking it to be quiet, or requesting it to calm down the voices in your head, but it simply requires awareness.
Noticing this voice in your head, the one that has all these thoughts continually pervading in your head, is easy, but recognizing it as a separate entity that doesn't define who you are is challenging and is very different from noticing it.
(12:20):
And the real growth that happens in our lives to get rid of these vasanas that I discussed about, or these impressions, are to notice the voice, understand that you are not it, but you are rather the one who hears it.
The power of now talks a lot about using the mind as a tool.
So a lot of us cannot distinguish the difference between the awareness, or who we actually are, and the mind that is a tool.
(12:49):
And so, as people, to reach a state of peace, inner peace, and non-detachment, the first thing that must be done is noticing the separation between the two.
Because a lot of what the voice says is unnecessary energy consuming. For instance, let's go back to the previous example.
Which part of any of the dialogue you may or may not have had that reminds you of resentment, betrayal, or sadness is necessary?
(13:18):
How much of that dialogue really was productive and really created a lot of change in the way you saw things, the way you moved about the world, and the way you even thought of anything?
The only thing it might have done is reduced or dropped your mood slightly.
So it's important to establish that much of what this voice, this kind of mind, this tool that you have, is saying is unnecessary and energy consuming.
(13:46):
And drawing back to Stoic philosophy, a lot of the problems in our mind, the problems in our life, come not from the problem itself, but our perception of it.
The mind's commotion about it, the ego's refusal to let go of it, and our attachment to it.
A lot of us define ourselves with the problems we face, by the suffering we endure, and by the pain we have taken upon ourselves.
(14:11):
So it's important to understand that while it is a defining part of who you are, it is not the only thing that describes who you are.
This inner voice usually manifests as a result of an excess energy buildup.
It results due to the unnecessary time consuming and energy consuming aspect of the mind circulates around everything you do.
(14:38):
If you say for instance, like hit your foot against something on accident.
There are two ways you can go about understanding or reacting to this.
You can temporarily allow yourself to be like, oh no, hit my foot, and then go on with life.
Or you can allow yourself to compound upon it, say how bad your day is, fuel and create this world of suffering,
(15:06):
by having your mind beat itself up over and over again.
Remember, the voice tries to seek purchase and tries to put a label around everything to feel comfortable, to feel like you can step back.
Because say for instance, you're still driving around, you see the red Prius.
(15:27):
What it tries to do is instead of taking the red Prius in for what it is, it tries to label it.
It tries to put a box around it by giving it a name, by associating memory with it, by trying to understand or perceive the world in its own small confines.
By trying to understand it or try to make it a little more workable.
(15:48):
However, if you were to just simply take a step back, not allow your mind to try to label something and just be present in the moment,
you will find a greater sense of beauty, an increased non-attachment, and a greater sense of happiness from just existing.
And so what I mentioned before is the idea of the inner voice arising due to excess energy buildup.
(16:14):
A lot of us wake up with a lot of energy in ourselves, provided we sleep well.
And so what happens is we tend towards anxiety based thoughts, ones that are repetitive and necessary.
And the inner voice that the mind has thrives on this excess energy.
Because it allows itself to flit from thought to thought to topic to topic, taking whichever and whatever side the ego can manifest as,
(16:40):
simply for it to exist or live.
So we kind of covered as a summary, the idea of avoiding actions, repressing emotions,
understanding the internal voice doesn't really define who we are,
(17:02):
focusing on the awareness behind the mind, not the voice,
using the mind as a tool and examining this tool to see what it says that is important, viable, and necessary,
and what is unnecessary, understanding that this ego, this mind, these kind of thoughts we have, are not defining.
(17:25):
Every single point or thought we have doesn't need to be judged or analyzed.
It can simply exist, and as long as you don't give it purchase, it will disappear by itself.
And remember, the real growth that happens in our life comes from discovering that we are the awareness behind the mind,
not the mind.
(17:46):
Understand that this inner world that we are inside is controllable.
The only thing we can control, as Marcus Rulius says, is the quality of our thoughts.
Or, if an event happens to us, the only thing we can control is our judgment or reaction to it.
And, if we simply allow ourselves to control our inner world, to control this yappering mind that does not know how to stop talking,
(18:12):
we shape our own personal experience, we see the world in a more calmer, cooler light,
and when we choose not to narrate every single little thing with the attempt of putting a label on it,
we allow ourselves to be open and exposed to more of the beauty of life.
Our mind has served as a protection mechanism.
(18:36):
There is a lot in this world we cannot control, there is a lot in this world we do not know.
So, for the sake of comfort, a sake of happiness, or a sake of understanding,
the mind tries to box in something that cannot be boxed in.
It offers you a sense of security to live or operate in this chaotic space,
(18:57):
or in this chaotic world that we find ourselves a part of.
But, true growth has a lot to do with surpassing the part of you,
rather transcending the part of you that feels open, raw, and vulnerable and needs protection.
It is allowing yourself to put yourself out there, past this vulnerability,
(19:18):
and past the constant labeling that the mind needs to do, and simply just be present and exist.
And the primary way you do this is not by judgment, but rather by observation and awareness.
By being aware that you are not the voice that constantly rings in your head,
(19:42):
but you are rather the observer of said voice, is how you are going to get to that point.
And by having this awareness, you open a doorway into your true being, the self, the one behind the mind.
And that is one of the greatest mysteries of creation.
And that is how we find ourselves at the end of suffering.
(20:06):
Not by reaching this subsequent mountain that we are going to climb upon and finally feel happy,
not in any future event or not in any place that is not the present,
but it can only be found in the present, because that is all we have.
That is the only thing we can control, which is the quality of our thoughts in the present moment.
And the only thing we can do is trust in our future self to know what is right and what must be done.
(20:33):
But by consistently having an internal dialogue that ships away at whoever we really are,
that ships away at our mental energy, that ships away at our courage, our discipline, and our strength,
we do ourselves a major disservice.
But by having a subject-object relationship with your thoughts,
(20:54):
by realizing that you can be the person who observes them
and doesn't have to associate themselves with every single thought they have,
you take the next step towards having enlightenment, ending suffering, present only in the now.
So before we end this episode, I want to describe a little bit about the Bhagavad Gita
(21:16):
and the kind of setting for which this divine song is being sung.
So the Mahabharata is one of the two great epics of Hindu mythology.
It kind of circles around the idea of almost the good versus evil with major nuance in terms of the story.
(21:37):
So five brothers, the Pandavas, are born of Pandu, who is one of two brothers as a part of a kingdom.
First brother, first king is Pandu, second one is Dhritarashtra, who is a king who was blinded,
who was born blind and grew up blind as well.
(21:59):
So the five Pandavas are the sons of Pandu, who is the current king of Hastinapura.
And so Pandu and Dhritarashtra kind of both rule in this kingdom,
and at one point, while the five Pandavas grow up, Dhritarashtra also gets a boon with his wife, and he births 100 sons.
(22:26):
And so the overall Mahabharata builds up as the five Pandavas being kind of beacons of moral virtue,
each having separate qualities or unique qualities, and the Kauravas as their counterparts being more stuck in the idea of ego and arrogance.
(22:47):
So as they grow up, there's rivalries, and by one dice game, Yudhishthira, who is the eldest brother of the Pandavas,
loses half of his entire kingdom to the Kauravas and is forced to go into exile for 13 years before he receives his kingdom back,
(23:13):
with the 13th year being in incognito.
And so these 12 years pass, all five brothers build up other skills, live life, live through various ashrams,
which are places where saints are and where a lot of Vedic learning and sacrifices happen and rituals,
(23:36):
and then on the 13th year, they go incognito, asked to not be found by the Kauravas,
because the rule was that if they were found at the 13th year, they'd have to go for another 12 years into the forest.
So they survive all 13 years and they come back expecting their half of the kingdom to be given back to them.
However, Duryodhana, who is the main villain, quote unquote, and one of the eldest brothers of the Kauravas,
(24:04):
refuses to give them even one needle of land.
Regardless of the number of messengers that are sent and the number of attempts at peace talks, nothing happens.
And there the rastra, the king, is blinded by his love for his son, especially Duryodhana,
and a few other of his other sons, who are major characters in this epic.
(24:25):
So what ends up happening is that both sides prepare for war.
Pandavas reach out to as many of their allies as they can, bring them on, and have an army of their own, and so do the Kauravas.
So in this scene, both armies are amassed against each other,
(24:50):
and Arjuna, who is the focus of the Bhagavad Gita as the disciple, quote unquote,
with this charater as Krishna, who is the supreme godhead or an incarnation of Vishnu,
Arjuna asks if Krishna can move him to the middle of the battlefield,
so he can take a look at the warriors that he's going to be fighting against,
(25:15):
to get a sense of what is going to be happening, who is going to be fighting, and what he must do, and what tactics he must use.
So obligingly, Krishna moves him to the middle of the battlefield,
and what Arjuna sees on the other side are teachers, friends, people he grew up with,
and people he was close to and has great respect for on the other side.
(25:40):
And this obviously distresses him, because before, he may have thought that he was fighting for good, for the sake of justice and morality,
but by seeing all these people on the other side, he loses sense of what is real and what is not.
He gets major anxiety tremors, and wants to throw away his weapons and go and live back as an aesthetic,
(26:06):
to not have to endure the pain of killing all of his relatives, his family, his friends, and everyone he grew up with.
And so this kind of sets the stage for the Bhagavad Gita.
And so this song is narrated by Sanjaya, who is one of the messengers and advisors to Dhridhrashtra,
(26:27):
who had divine vision given to him by the gods for him to see what is happening around.
And so this third person perspective allows you to take a look at what Arjuna says,
and what Krishna replies in this divine song.
Because as soon as Arjuna loses and starts getting tremors,
feels like his weapons are slipping from his grip, Krishna frees his time to give this incredible lesson that is used extensively today.
(26:57):
And so that is the setting of the Bhagavad Gita.
And there's a lot of philosophy that is talked about that is secular in nature.
It isn't necessarily attached or contained to Hinduism, but can be majorly applicable,
which ties back to the point of religion being philosophy in action.
Religion doesn't necessarily have to be a set of customs or traditions that are followed through for the sake of following them.
(27:21):
They can rather be a philosophy for us to view the world, to understand the world around us, and to live to the best of our abilities.
And so the Bhagavad Gita with this setting of immense tremors from Arjuna,
this kind of disassociation from what is real and what is just,
losing a sense of the higher self and staying so grounded to ego and the body,
(27:47):
which does not really exist and cannot be harmed directly,
we are set up to understand how Krishna is going to work his way through the many philosophies,
such as Jnana Yoga, Yoga of Knowledge, Karma Yoga, Yoga of Karma, and work his way through illustrating these various points of life,
(28:12):
the non-attachment through which we must live, and the happiness we can then gain as a result of it.
So tune in in future episodes where I will start going through the many verses of the Bhagavad Gita,
pointing out various verses, thoughts, and quotes from there, and connecting it to Stoic thought,
(28:33):
spiritual books, and other ideas that I have thought about or built off of from this divine song.
The Bhagavad Gita remains one of the primary texts that are used illustrating philosophy of action,
the philosophy of living life, not renunciating it and living with apathy and indifference,
(28:57):
but rather taking in all the things that come into us in our life and not staying attached to all of it,
rather living in the world and not letting it live in us.
Thank you so much for listening to this episode on the idea that we are the voice that kind of watches over the mind,
(29:20):
and the awareness that we are is the one that watches over the mind,
and the idea of religion being philosophy and action,
and the non-attachment required to live without these impressions that dig ourselves and collect karma.
If you would like to hear more content, you can drop me a follow at StoicSpirituality on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
(29:46):
And if you would like to have one-on-one coaching, feel free to reach out to me
and book an appointment for a free sample session.
Thank you so much for listening, and see you guys next time.
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