Let's Find Out - Reading Desiderata and an interesting excerpt from Upanishads

Episode Date: August 20, 2019

Desiderata is a beautiful poem that puts life into perspective. It's worth a listen. Thanks for listening. *If you want to give feedback, please go over to my youtube channel, Let's Find Out ASMR", I'd love to read your input.

Desa Derrata. Tonight's beautiful poem means desired things. Tanya, I want to thank you for supporting the channel generously in recommending this beautiful, perennially, useful obscurity. The author Max Erman wrote it in 1927. 72 and was an American writer, poet, and he often wrote on spiritual themes. He studied philosophy and law afterwards at Harvard. So he was no slouch. At age 54, he wrote Desiderata, which achieved fame only after his death.

So let's go ahead and read it. Here is Deserterata. Go placidly amid the noise in the haste. and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others.

Even the dull and the ignorant, for they too have their stories. Avoid loud and aggressive persons. They are vexations. to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may risk becoming vain and bitter. For always there's going to be greater and lesser persons.

Do your achievements as your plans. Be interested in your own career, however humble, it's a real possession in the changing fortunes. Exercise caution in your business affairs. The world is full. trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is out there. Many persons strive for high ideals and everywhere. Life is full of heroism. You yourself, especially don't feign affection and neither be cynical about love. For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,

it is as perennial as the grass Take kindly the counsel of the ears Gracefully surrendering the things of youth Nurture strength of spirit to shield you From sudden misfortune Don't distress yourself with with dark imaginings Many fears are born of fatigue Beyond a wholesome discipline be gentle with yourself

you're a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars you have a right to be here and whether or not it's clear to you no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should therefore be at peace with God

whoever you may conceive him to be in whatever your labors and aspirations The noisy confusion of life Keep peace With your soul With all its sham and drudgery In broken dreams

It's still a beautiful world Be cheerful Strive Strive to be happy That's Deserata Desired I actually thought he was a Minister or something

But he was a lawyer It's very Reminiscent of Carl Sagan you're a child of the universe no less than the stars and the trees yourself with dark imaginings I like how positive how affirmative it really is

it's it's not self deluding though it's not a delusive poem it's a creative poem it wants you to create yourself He wants you to acknowledge the closer your mind is the closer you perceive reality. The closer you are to whatever you decide.

Whatever you will not decide. Whatever you come to believe God really is. I think reality is, by definition, going to happen, going to play out. can I exist regardless of your intentions or view of it part of reality if you acknowledge it if you acknowledge it you know yeah I guess it's not happen either way reality is that which is just going to lessen your susceptibility to be the victims of fate be the victims of someone else's more active, more activated, more self-actualized life. It's crazy as if you actually study science, philosophy, religion, I think, I think at the

core they're not conflicting. I think really that they're going to agree upon is how complex, if not the most complex thing in the universe is us, you know. And if you can harness, might you help fruition? You know, Morgan Freeman actually, he was interviewed by Oprah and expressed how deeply this poem shaped his life. You Star Trek fans, he actually read the eight album, the two sides of Leonard. His rendition is not only,

it's not the only one to change the second to last sentence from, be cheerful, strive to be happy, to be careful. You know, I read a very slow reader, unfortunately. You know, I guess that's why I'm so careful, really immersed. I take this one of the philosophers. I have another one called the Social Philosophers.

I probably won't ever. This is from the Indian Upanguant with death. Panashad's antidate the birth of Buddha. In the 5th century BC, there are a mystical interpretation of man, God. What is the Venn, Vedanta? Because they constitute the end of the Veda, or that whole body of philosophic development from 1500 to 600 BC. They are in a sense in anthology of transcendent.

thinking on man's search beyond logic in reality for infinite bliss. Dialogue with death and the other one, Bramana, goal of the emphasis throughout the Upanishads as illusion as the highest perfection. It's actually not really, really long. It'd probably take me like a half hour to read it out loud. It opens up essentially it's pretty eponymous. So, titled. It just opens up as a kind of a tragic fate to a little boy.

And eventually the little boy winds up in a dialogue with death himself. It says Bagas Ravasa, and these names are very syllabic, multi-sulabic. Bagra Basa

desirous of heavenly reward surrendered at a sacrifice all that he possessed. He had a son of the name Nakikitas. Promised parents were being given to the priests. Faith entered into the heart of Nakiketis, who was still a boy. So Nikiketis was of course one of the gifts being offered up as a sacrifice. by Vagravasa, his father.

And when the promised presents were being given to the priests, faith entered into the heart of Nikiketis, who was still a boy, and he thought, unblessed surely are the worlds to which a man goes by giving as his promised present at a sacrifice,

the cows which had drunk water, eaten hay given their milk and are barren. He, Nikikitas, knowing that his father had promised to give up all that he possessed. Therefore his son also said to his father, dear father, To whom wilt thou give me? He said it a second time and a third time. Then the father replied angrily,

I shall give thee unto death. The father, having once, said so, though in haste, had to be true to his word, and to sacrifice his son. The son said, I go as the first, at the head of many who have still to die. I go in the midst of many who are now dying. So what will be the work of Yama,

the ruler of the departed? which today he has to do unto me. Look back how it was with those who came before. Look forward how it will be with those who come hereafter. A mortal ripens like the corn. Like corn, he springs up again. And so Nikikitas enters into the abode of Yama Vivasvada, and there's no one there to receive him.

and I think I think Yama is a he's some sort of mediator between the life and the dead Purposes Nikikitas is sacrificed he dies And then he's entered into this sort of Sorting house of the dead, I suppose Some sort of limbo maybe And he waits in this house, an actual house For Yama Who doesn't return

leaves them just hanging there for three days. So this actually shows some neglect on the part of Yama. And therefore, in Kikitas as a reward of being neglected and kind of dishonored in this guy's house, not treated with proper hospitality. Kikitas has offered three boons or wishes. A little back and forth. The genie, the person Keketus.

giving him these wishes, these boons, boons. So, Yelman mistreats him, then by default, Nikikotis gets his boon. Death is the giver of the boons, the grantor of the wishes. Nikiketis is offered, initially by death, he's offered wealth. In so many forms, cattle, horses, treasure. My father be pacified, kind, and free from anger. towards me, and that he may know, that he may know me and greet me, when I shall have been dismissed by thee. It thus went on to say, in the heaven world, there is no fear. Thou art not there,

O death, and no one is afraid on the account of old age, leaving behind both hunger and thirst, all rejoice in the world of heaven. Thou knowest, O death, the fire sacrifice which leads us to heaven tell it to me for I'm full of faith those who live in the heaven world reach immortality this I ask is my second boon boom yama said so I think it was a he wants to know knowledge which is at the core of this fire sacrifice ritual yama said he's talking to yama at first Then Yama directs him to death. Did I tell thee learn it from me when thou understandest? That fire sacrifice, which leads to heaven,

know O Nikikidas, that it is the attainment of the endless worlds in their firm support, hidden in darkness. Yama then told him that fire sacrifice, the beginning of all the worlds, and what bricks are required for the altar. and how many and how they are to be placed. And Negiketus repeated all as it had been told to him.

Then Maritu, being pleased with him, said again, The generous being satisfied, said to him, Give thee now another boon. Fire sacrifice shall be named after thee. Take also this many-colored chain. Leo's performed this sacrifice. Certain understood this fire which knows, or makes us know all that is born of Brahmin, which is venerable and divine.

Venerable divine that he obtains everlasting peace. So Nikiketus is, um, he wishes for peace, he wishes for the most wise thing. Slowly but surely he ends up, I think, converging on the most profound question to him. And maybe, in reality, is what is reality? He ends up asking death. He says, there is that doubt when a man is dead. Some saying he is, others saying he's not. This I should like to know, taught by thee.

This is the third of my boons. Then death says, no, no, no, please let me. It's too, too complicated of a question. Let me off the hook. It's subtle. Don't press me. Let me off that boon. He says, choose sons, grandsons who shall live a hundred years.

Heads of cattle, elephants, gold. Choose the wide abode of the earth. And live thyself as many harvests as thou desire. So, now he's offering Nikiketus life, almost, almost immortality. Not quite, though, but Nikiketis isn't swayed. Nekikiketis slices right to the core. He says, he recognizes that, regardless of how long these things last till tomorrow, oh death, for they wear out this vigor of all the senses.

Even the whole of life is short. Keep thou horses, keep dance and song for thyself can be made. Death is being impressed by the wisdom shown by Nekikiketis. Wide and so death starts pondering about Nekikiketis. as a being and death says wide apart in leading to different points these two these uh the road that leadeth to wealth and so death says the good is one thing the pleasant is another these two having different objects chain a man wide apart in leading to different points are these two ignorance in what is known as wisdom.

And I believe in the Kikidas to be one who desires knowledge. For even many pleasures do not tear the away. Fools dwelling in the darkness, wise in their own conceit, and puffed up with the vain knowledge go round and round. Staggering to and fro like blind men leading the blind. The hereafter never rises before the eyes of the careless. child, deluded by the delusion. This is the world

he thinks. There is no other. Thus he falls again and again under my sway. It goes on for a while, so I don't want to go over the whole thing, but the Echiketis again says,

I know that what is called treasure is transient. For that eternal is not obtained by things which are not eternal. Hence the Nikethev fire sacrifice has been laid by me first, but then by means of transient things I have obtained what is not transient.

The teaching of Yama was impressed, saying that you've been endless rewards, the shore where there is no fear, which is magnified by praise, the wide boat the rest but yet being wise thou hast with firm resolve

dismissed it all I wrote I guess this other than death if we're lucky the death of ourselves is the second most we're gonna have to face

at some point and it's gonna come and it'll go and you will face it we all do it everyone who has died has done it i said it made me think that our past will also be with us we're gonna be physically by ourselves but we will have our past we'll have our memories and it's up the way we live right now by was will it save us or will it destroy us and um to no reality that which thou seest as neither this nor that has neither effect

nor has neither past nor future tell me that yama said or place which all the Vedas record which all men desire when they live as religious students is own that imperishable syllable

means Brahman that syllable means the highest he who knows that syllable whatever he desires is his this is the best support This is the highest support. He who knows that support is magnified in the world of Brahma.

The self is not born. It dies. It not. It doesn't die. It's spraying from nothing. The agent, the agent is unborn, eternal, everlasting. He is not killed, though the body is killed. The self smaller than the small, greater than the great,

is hidden who is free from desires and free from grief seized the majesty of the self by the grace of the creator all this stuff is you know it's easy to lose interest and get immediate associations with

snake oil salesman you know it's like clarity I'm not getting precision in speech it's all very metaphorical could be meaningless but context of this story it makes sense it's very profound it's very

impactful to me said he continued the self as bodyless within the bodies as unchanging among changing things and great

omnipresent does never grieve then there was a metaphor about it was just I had to highlight it because it was so profound I mean it was um i used that word too much it was very analogous to psychology um psychoanalytic thought the little bit

that i understand were saying that a chariot the mind is a chariot know thyself to be sitting in the chariot and this is the self in the psychological sense i think the body to be the chariot the intellect to be the charioteer, the rain. They call the horses, the objects of the senses, the roads. The senses they call the horses because it's the senses, I guess we have limited senses. They're very purpose-oriented and the ruts in the road are the objects that the senses choose or are inclined. predisposed to perceive. And so there's a million things,

million paths we can take, but the ruts in the road are the objects. That out of the infinite multitude of physical, objective things, those are the things we choose to perceive, and that's the path. The senses are driven down. But of course, you know,

It's not just the senses are the thing that your mind, yourself. And to do something when you've made up your mind. There's a few panachats. Six, seven, eight hundred years, thousand years before Christ understood this. He who has no understanding in whose mind, the reins, is never firmly held. His senses, the horses, are unmanageable, like vicious horses. vicious horses of a charioteer.

But he who has understanding and whose mind is firmly held, his senses are under control like good horses of a charioteer. He who has no understanding, who has unmindful and always impure, never reaches that place, but enters into the round of but he who has understanding is mindful, always pure, reaches indeed that place from whence he is not born again. It talks about, you know, it's just here they're really speculating about what lies underneath our perceptions, our reality arc.

Beyond the senses are the objects. Beyond the objects, there is the mind. He reaches the end of his journey, and that is the highest place of Vishnu. Beyond the senses are the objects, beyond the objects, beyond the objects, beyond the objects. objects, there is the mind, there is the intellect, the great self is beyond the intellect. Beyond the great, there is the undeveloped. Beyond the undeveloped, there is the person, or the perusha. Beyond the person, there is nothing. This is the goal, the highest, run speech in mind

he should keep with keep them within himself or the self which is the great he should keep that great within the self which is the quiet rise awake having obtained your boons understand them

said the yama to Nikikitas the sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over thus the wise say the past to the self is hard. Who has perceived that which is without sound, without touch, without form, without decay, without taste, eternal, without smell, without beginning without end, beyond the great and unchangeable, is freed from the jaws of death. Of course a lot more.