Joyful Living

[Based on Chapter 12: Atmananda Prakaranam

of Panchadashi of Sri Vidyaranya Swami]

Course material written and dedicated to Swami Paramarthananda

by
Raja Subramaniyan (joyfulliving@gmail.com)
October 2008
Module L

Joy of
Teaching

572
Unit 01: Teaching others Number of Sessions: 5
(L01 – L05)
Number of Lessons: 2

On completion of this unit, the student-teacher will be able to

(a) Understand the type of people who can be taught

(b) Understand the how non-seekers can be taught

Notes to the teacher: (Ref 12.01 and 12.90 of the original text)

The teacher should apply the teachings in this chapter on the students and
classify them on how much they can absorb. It is advisable to divide the class
into smaller groups and teach them according to their level.

Those students have completed the first ten modules should be taught the
content of this chapter more seriously since they are eligible to become teachers.

Unit Test: Session L05

1. What are the three types of people who do not yet seek the teaching?
2. What are the prescribed steps through which the non-seekers could be
taught?
3. List the ten differences between the love for self and the love for others.
4. Why we do not live joyfully if it is true that our basic nature is happiness?
5. Is consciousness and happiness are two different attributes of SELF?

573
Lesson 1: Teaching the truth Session: L01 – L02

After reaching the destination of Joyful Living, it is natural to feel that we should
help others.

Example: After surmounting a highest peak of a mountain through a

difficult path, it is natural to feel the urge to guide others who are trying to
climb the mountain for the first time. From the top one will be able to see
the struggle of those who are attempting to scale the peak. Some may be
making rights moves while others may be making wrong moves. It is
natural to feel the urge to guide them through the right path so that more
people could reach the peak faster and with less effort.

Similarly, once the essence of life is understood, there will be a natural tendency
to guide others to improve the quality of their life.

However, this is a difficult proposition. There are different grades of people and
not every one of them is capable of receiving the guidance.

Example: A medicine which normally cures a disease, may not suit a

particular patient. It may do more harm than good. In such a case, a
different but appropriate medicine should be prescribed.

Similarly, it is very important to understand people to whom one wants to provide

guidance to reach the destination of Joyful Living.

Type 1: Those who do not have enough intelligence

Joyful Living is possible only when a person has sufficient intelligence. Most
people do not have this qualification and therefore they cannot be helped.

Example: An expert who coaches people to climb mountains will check

physical fitness of a person prior to commencement of the training
program. A person who does not have enough strength to run for 30
minutes will not be enrolled for the training program. He has to develop
the required level of physical fitness and then attempt to climb the
mountain. The expert may prescribe certain diet and exercise routines for
improving the physical fitness.

Similarly, there are many people who are not yet qualified to commence the
journey towards joyful living. Their level of intelligence is below the standard and
therefore they have to spend more time (may be more life times) on making the
mind matured enough before a meaningful guidance can be given to them.

574
Life is an activity based learning process. All actions done by an individual goes
to increase his mental maturity. Therefore, appropriate prescriptions like, ‘earn
more money’, ‘pray to god’, ‘follow the traditional rituals’, will help them.

They may take their own time to get the required level of intelligence. The
teacher cannot do anything for them.

Example: A student in the 8th grade is not yet ready to enter the college.
He has to spend more time and effort in completing the remaining grades
in the school before applying for college study.

Type 2: Those who are qualified but happy with life

There are many people who have required potential to commence the journey
towards Joyful Living but they do not yet see that life oscillates between pairs of
opposites like pleasure and pain.

When they are enjoying their life, they do not see the need to spend time and
effort on learning Holy Scriptures.

When pleasure alternates to pain, they will not be able to commence their
journey towards Joyful Living because they are bogged down by the problems.

It is a difficult job for a teacher to educate them that it is not possible to live
joyfully without studying the Holy Scriptures. It is not the job of the teacher to light
a fire on the head of the student and then offer to help him to put off the fire. Only
those who have realized that their head is on fire can seek and get guidance of
the teacher.

Thus, only those who understand the limitations of objects of the world in giving
happiness can benefit from the teaching.

Type 3: Those who are qualified but seeking Joyful Living through material
pursuit

Most educated people believe that advancements in science and technology

combined with appropriate political and economic system can bring about Joyful
Living. It will be very difficult to convince them that they are chasing a mirage.

Only when they realize the futility of prosperity in giving Joyful Living, they will
turn their attention to spiritual pursuit. A teacher can help them only at this stage
and not before.

Thus, the teacher can become a teacher only if there are students, who are
seeking the truth. A teacher cannot on his own volition guide others through
friendly advice, discussion and debate or by recommending books.

575
Lesson 2: Teaching the self Session: L03 – L04

Normally, a teacher should teach only those who seek to understand the Holy
Scriptures. However, if a teacher wants to teach non-seekers, following steps are
prescribed.

Step 1: Teach that self is more important than others

In reality there is nothing but SELF. However, this is too difficult to understand.
Therefore, the teacher should start from the known self and only after the student
understands this he can proceed to teach about SELF.

Every one understands that there is a difference between self and others.

The first lesson to be taught is self is more important than others. Generally,
selfless service is considered as a virtue and selfishness is considered to be an
evil quality. The teacher should teach truth that self is more important than
others.

A husband loves his wife for selfish reason and never for the sake of his wife.

A wife loves her husband for selfish reason and never for the sake of her
husband.

No one loves anyone for the sake of the other and everyone is always selfish.

This truth should be taught using the following examples:

1. A father with a beard kissing a crying baby for his own satisfaction and not
for the baby’s satisfaction.
2. Money, gold and other riches are inert objects. They do not need any
protection. The rich person loves and protects these riches and it is
obvious that the beneficiary is self and not the riches.
3. A farmer loves his cows because they work for him in agriculture.
4. Liking or loving one’s profession is not for the sake of the profession but
due to the benefit that brings to oneself.
5. Praying to God is for selfish reasons and not for the Gods. Even if one
prays for the welfare of others, the ultimate reason for such prayer is
always selfish.

This is a simple and obvious truth. Those who cannot understand this initial
lesson are not yet ready to progress to the next lesson.

Unless a person considers that self is the most important entity, he will not have
inclination to understand more about self. Others are always an illusion and self
is the only eternal truth. As long as one is focused on what others will think and

576
the roles played by others in life, it is difficult to concentrate on the lessons of
SELF.

Step 2: Teach the difference in love

Once the student understands the truth that all his actions are selfish in nature,
he is ready to understand the differences between love for self and love for
others. The truth, SELF is the subject and not the object of love, is too difficult to
understand. Therefore, the teacher should proceed to teach about the love for
self as if self is an object of love. In the process of such teaching shrewd
students will start seeing the unique nature of self/SELF.

Following differences between the love for self and love for others is to be taught.

1. There will be an emotional content in love for others. There is no role for
emotions with respect to love for self.
2. Love for others will involve desires. For example, love for the son will give
raise to many desires for his welfare. Love for the self does not result in
any desire because self never undergoes any change and it is constantly
present.
3. Attachment to the object of love is common in case of love for others.
Love for self does not involve any sense of attachment.
4. If the loved object is another human being, then there will be faith and
trust in that person. (If there is a betrayal of such trust, then the love is
lost) In case of love for the self there is no faith or trust.
5. If one loves God, there will be devotion and willingness to perform
sacrifices for God. These are not present in the love for self.
6. Love for self is expressed through the dominance of Aura component of
AEM. When one is serene, peaceful and full of happiness, the love for self
is obvious. Love for others will involve fear, insecurity and sorrow. For
example, the love for a son will bring misery and suffering from the day of
the marriage in the form of expectations and desires of pregnancy,
delivery, well being of the baby, proper education for the child, good job/
wife for the son etc. The possibilities of unhappiness are virtually
unlimited.
7. Love for the others keep varying depending on how they respond to our
love but love for self is unchanging and always constant.
8. Love for others may turn into hatred but there is no such chance in love for
self. Even if one wants to commit suicide it is the hatred towards the body
or mind, which are mere objects of love and there will never be hatred
towards self.
9. The object of love keeps changing from the time we are born until we die.
But the love for self does not change.
10. Love as a means to happiness is partial love. Love for others is partial
love since it is always for the happiness of the self. Love for self is infinite
and always complete.

577
Step 3: Suggest inquiry into self

If the student comprehends the teaching thus far, he becomes eligible for this
step. In this step, the teacher starts the inquiry process of finding out the most
important object of love for the student, namely his self.

Thus, the process of self inquiry, ‘who am I’, starts in a subdued manner in the
following lines.

‘May I never perish, May I ever exist’ is the common desire that is seen in all
living beings. Therefore, the love for self is very evident. This desire for eternity is
possible only if our nature is eternal.

Example: While visiting a foreign country, any object (food or a person)

from the home country appears to be very attractive. This attractiveness is
due to the fact that we are used to such object in our home country.

Similarly, since our nature is eternal, we seek eternity.

We are also aware that the feeling of I does not undergo any change at all. We
observe the changes in our body, mind and intelligence. We have never noticed
an iota of change in ‘I’. There is no young ‘I’ or old ‘I’ because the words young
and old refer to my body.

Therefore, self is different from my body/ mind complex.

Self is present at all times and at all stages. During waking, dreaming and deep
sleep stages the self persists.

Step 4: Suggest introspection into self

The student may take a long time to complete systematic study of the Holy
Scriptures under the guidance of a competent teacher and understand the
central message that SELF is the only source of infinite joy.

Then many questions may come up in his mind. A teacher should teach students
at this level in the following lines.

Question: Since the consciousness aspect of SELF is fully reflected in the mind,
why the joy aspect is not constantly reflected?

The composition of Aura, Energy and Matter determine the reflecting capability of
the mind. While the basic composition of AEM in the mind of all the living beings
has the ability to reflect the consciousness aspect, the joy aspect requires
dominance of Aura.

578
 Example: A lamp may spread light and heat. While light from the lamp fills
up the room, heat from the lamp is not widely spread. A person sitting at
far end of the room may not feel any heat from the lamp. However a
person sitting close to the fire will feel the heat.

Similarly, only people with the refined mind will have the ability to reflect the
natural joy of the SELF and lead a life of joy.

Question: Does it mean consciousness and joy are two different attributes of
SELF? It said in the scriptures that SELF has no attributes.

SELF has no attributes. We talk about consciousness and joy as two natures of
SELF just we talk about the softness and smell of a flower. The flower is only one
and it is not possible to separate the softness or smell from the flower. Just
because we have distinct sense organs to perceive the flower, we attribute two
different qualities to the flower. Similarly, the consciousness and joy are
inseparable. When our mind is Aura dominated we will be able to perceive the
joy aspect in addition to the consciousness aspect else it is not possible to
perceive the joy.

Example: If my nose is blocked, I cannot claim that the flower does not
have any smell.

Similarly, until our mind is matured with sufficient level of Aura dominance, we
will not be able to reflect the natural joy of SELF. When our mind is Energy
dominant, our natural joy is obscured.

Example: The intensity of the sour taste of tamarind is lessened when

more salt is added.

Similarly, more Energy component, we experience less joy.

Conclusion:

Once the teacher guides the student through the above steps, he will be able to
identify the true happiness is his own nature and see that the objects of the world
are part of the illusion. SELF is only one and it is common to all the living beings.
All the living beings and non-living beings are mere projection of the SELF. Only
those whose minds are dominant with Aura can reflect the natural joy of SELF
and reach the destination of Joyful Living.

Only such people with Aura dominance will seek the teaching for Joyful Living.
Those who are dominated by Energy may want to learn the content of Holy
Scriptures, for improving their performance in material pursuit. Such people
should be taken through the above four steps by the teacher.

579