Teacher talk

Here are some notes from a discourse by TT Rangarajan that I attended a few months ago, putting them down in case I lose my notebook!

1. God is a matter of alignment, not belief. Faith in God is not enough, you have to align yourself with the message — whether it’s Krishna’s or Christ’s. Your value system needs aligning. Valuing the master without mastering the values will not take you anywhere. The greater your non-alignment from the laws of life, the greater your suffering. Suffering is feedback from life, telling you that you are not aligned.

2. Life follows enthusiasm. Being enthusiastic is your way of being in touch with God. If you have to do something, do it enthusiastically or don’t do it at all. Right action is that which generates the energy to perform the action by itself. Here’s a clue: You never get tired when you are taking the right action. There are some things you have to do, such as parenting, but if they tire you then you aren’t being enthusiastic enough. You can’t delegate your karma, so you may as well become enthusiastic about it.

3. How do I align myself? Prem, sat, chit, anand. This is the essence of all the scriptures. Life can’t run on a parallel track with one’s spiritual ideals. They have to be aligned to each other. We are people who are busy in our lives, and ‘also’ seeking God. But we have to become those who are busy in our lives ‘only’ seeking God.

4. Prem: Appreciating the oneness that is there in everyone. “Namaste” means bowing to the same light in everyone. The Bible says you are rich by what you give. If you keep starving for love, it means you aren’t giving enough love. See what you can give in relationships, not what you can get. This is alignment to prem.

5. Sat: Law of impermanence. You are bound to be unhappy when you expect permanence when nothing is. Cultivate detached attachment: “When it ends, I will gracefully let it go. But while it is here, I will give it 100 per cent.” We have to leave a legacy, our lives cannot just be a statistic. Help someone breathe easier.

6. Chit: Awareness, consciousness. Watch yourself, be aware of yourself. Practise introspection at the end of each day. What comes from outside is information. What comes from inside is transformation. The day will come when you will say, “I am happy with every single thing I thought, did or said today.” Introspection means giving life to your inner voice. And then that inner voice will give you life.

7. Anand: How can God be anything but bliss? The essence of life is anand. Krishna represented celebration, music, dance. We come from a country of festivals. What cannot be achieved through happiness cannot be achieved through unhappiness. Be grateful for the percentage of your life that is going right. If you are still unhappy, it means you aren’t being grateful enough.