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Sukhdev Muni and Ved Vyas

A spiritual discourse on the story of Śukadeva Muni and the nature of perception.

"When Śukadeva Muni was passing by, they did not feel disturbed; they were without dresses in the water. As soon as they saw me from far away, they hurried and put their dresses on."

"How you think like that, you create the world. It is our mind which disturbs us."

The speaker narrates the tale of the sage Śukadeva Muni and his father, Ved Vyāsa, encountering bathing women. The women explain that Śukadeva's non-dual vision, seeing only Brahman, caused no disturbance, unlike Vyāsa's perception of duality. The discourse expands into a teaching on how the mind shapes reality and the seductive, dangerous power of māyā, which can derail spiritual aspirants.

Recording location: Croatia, Umag, Weekend seminar

Great is Ved Vyāsa, who wrote the Vedas. Before him, the Vedas were not in written form. We speak of him as one of the greatest, the knower of all three worlds, a Trikāladarśī. Ved Vyāsa had one son: Śukadeva Muni. If one is a great wise being who can deliver peace, we say he is an incarnation of Śukadeva Muni. When Śukadeva Muni was very young, he went to the forest to do tapasyā. The young Śukadeva Muni was going to the forest. There was a lake where some ladies were bathing. Śukadeva Muni was just passing by. The young ladies did not feel disturbed at all. His father, Ved Vyāsa, followed him. When they saw Ved Vyāsa coming from about 200 meters away, quickly all the ladies who were swimming in the water put their dresses on, and Ved Vyāsa also gently passed by. But Ved Vyāsa had some doubts. When Śukadeva Muni was passing by, they did not feel disturbed; they were without dresses in the water. As soon as they saw me from far away, they hurried and put their dresses on. What is the reason? So he came back. He asked these ladies, "I see you all like my daughters, and I have one question." He asked the question of why they did this. They said, "Because in the consciousness of Śukadeva Muni, there is no duality of male and female; he sees in everyone the Brahman. But sir, you are a very wise one, but still you have that duality." And that is the main point. How you think like that, you create the world. It is our mind which disturbs us. When you think of your mother, you feel the love of a mother. When you think of your father and sister, you feel the love of a father and sister. When you think of the enemy, you feel the hate of the enemy. How you think—this thinking, this mind—has destroyed many, many yogīs. Many saints fall down. Many gave up their sādhanā; they gave up their studies, because the māyā is standing there with a gun. And she shoots you with such a bullet that you like it more and more. It is like the bite of Dracula. When Dracula bites you in your neck, in the beginning it is a little painful, but then you run behind him. Recording location: Croatia, Umag, Weekend seminar

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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