The crowd gathered in Kamarajar Arangam made one look with awe. The bright lights in the auditorium were inspiring, the briskness with which the volunteers guided the entrants to their seats was comforting and the soft strains of the bhajan were caressing to the senses. By the time Sunandaji entered the dais, the hall fell into utmost silence except for the ruffles of the people getting up in reverence.
Sunandaji exuded a rare respect and charm on the audience. Her fourth day lecture on the subject ‘Yoga of Meditation’ (Dhyana Yoga) from Bhagavad Gita, Chapter six once again proved that a discourse in English on spirituality or philosophy could also attract sizeable audience in this otherwise fast moving materialistic world. Perhaps, that only propels the public to find solace on sharing the thoughts of philosophy with spirituality.
Sunandaji had divided the 47 verses of Chapter six of Bhagavad Gita into six sub-sections as follows: Yogi rises to jnani (enlightened) (1-9), External and internal discipline of meditation (10-18), Controlled mind remains peaceful (19-24), Meditation reveals self in one and all (25-32), Can a restless mind be controlled (33-39) and Yogi unites with the Brahman (40-47).
A screen which displayed the verses both in Sanskrit and English (transliterated) scrawled down when the students chanted them in crystal clear tonal quality with proper modulation at Sunandaji’s behest. Sunandaji proceeded to explain each verse underpinning the philosophical and spiritual component in it. It was the 26th sloka ‘Yato Yato Nischalati’ where the importance of controlling the ever wandering mind was emphasised. Sunandaji put across the reason for the need for a spiritual doctor who could prescribe remedy for the disturbed minds of ours. She reiterated that yoga never expects one to divorce one’s regular activities with family and profession, but it expects one to practice it continuously. Quotes from
Upanishad and English literature came with ease. The 30th verse ‘Yo Maam Pashyati’ where the God says ‘he who sees Me everywhere and sees all in Me, I am not lost to him nor is he lost to Me’, she went on to explain how one should realise the self and practice discipline and control the mind and proceeded with verses in which the God advises the need for developing a sense of equanimity. She used the unfathomable ocean and the waves all of which are nothing but water as a metaphor for eschewing our ego. ‘Do we go to a temple without any expectations and to pray God just for his greatness?’ she questioned and bemoaned the attitude of attaching a utility tag to every act of ours. ‘Don’t hang on or linger on joy or sorrow too much because they are just visitors in our life and not permanent ones,’ she added.
Excellent elucidation
On the last session Sunandaji simply excelled in elucidation. She spoke on the importance of opting for the life of contentment, in reality, which is very difficult to overcome the ‘aavarna’ (the ignorance) because of which one suffers from ‘vikshepa’ (mental agitation). ‘When the mind is agitated it gets clouded’ she said adding an appeal for waking up from the stupor of ignorance with the help of a spiritual guide.
She recalled the content of the first verse in the chapter where a person who works with detached attachment (‘Karyam Karma Karoti Yah’) is a true ascetic even though if he could not succeed in his mission fully will be born in a family of wisdom and wealth. ‘Because of the conducive environment, he again takes further progress to achieve complete success, the realisation of self, a ‘sabda brahman.’ She said ‘a yogi striving with assiduity completely purified of sins, perfected through many births, reaches the supreme goal.
The yogi is further described as one deemed superior to Karvi, Tapasvi and Jnani as he understands the whole world is nothing but just a dream’.
Sunandaji concluded saying ‘Mind is the flow of thought and intellect is the one which watches it. If one achieves the capacity to discriminate sound and silence via meditation as flow of mind stops, intellect stops and plunge into the silence, one achieves the ultimate and merges with the self which is Him, the blessed God.’
Sunandaji’s language and explanations were simple but not simplistic. The flow was even and scholarly with emphasis at appropriate places. Her humour was subtle and asides were catchy creating a gentle wave of laughter and not uproars. Her voice rang with conviction, clarity and confidence. Captivating the audience with a basically abstract spiritual and philosophic lecture demands many qualities in the speaker. The fully occupied hall with assorted age groups of audience stood testimony to the fact that Sunandaji is an orator of sense and substance of superior standards. Those who listen to her once will definitely aspire to hear her once again.
