# Seeking the Divinity Hidden in your HEART: the True Self, Atma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSC_OoIl7hQ

[00:00] [Music]
[00:21] there once was a farmer who toiled in
[00:25] his fields every day from dawn to dusk
[00:28] to grow enough food to feed his family
[00:31] his elderly parents and all the friends
[00:36] neighbors and relatives who often
[00:38] visited his home each harvest was
[00:42] quickly consumed so he had to cultivate
[00:45] his fields all year round this
[00:49] unrelenting burden eventually left him
[00:53] feeling tired and discouraged to find
[00:57] some comfort he went to visit a wise
[01:00] Fahmy who lived nearby stories like this
[01:07] are frequently told by teachers to help
[01:10] their students grasp important Vedantic
[01:13] principles clearly and correctly most of
[01:17] these stories aren't found in the
[01:19] scriptures rather they've been passed on
[01:22] orally from teacher to student
[01:25] generation after generation this story
[01:29] is an allegorical tale called here onion
[01:33] ad the hidden treasure that treasure of
[01:38] course represents atma our true divine
[01:42] internet'
[01:43] which has the actual source of happiness
[01:46] contentment and peace
[01:49] the farmers toil represents our
[01:53] misdirected efforts to find perfect
[01:56] peace and contentment through worldly
[01:58] activities instead of seeking within
[02:03] recognizing the futility of worldly
[02:06] efforts many turned to the teachings of
[02:09] Vedanta just like the farmer sought out
[02:12] to Swami for some words of advice
[02:16] [Music]
[02:17] our farmer found the Swami sitting under
[02:21] a tree immersed in deep meditation and
[02:25] waited patiently until the Swami finally
[02:28] opened his eyes seeing the farmer the
[02:32] Swami said hi se ho how are you
[02:36] the farmer explained his predicament and
[02:39] asked for guidance
[02:41] the Swami thought for a moment and then
[02:44] said rather cryptically here dunya need
[02:48] he done go look for the hidden treasure
[02:54] hidden treasure the farmer was excited
[02:58] by the prospect of finding riches
[03:01] concealed somewhere with that fortune he
[03:05] could buy all the food needed to feed
[03:08] everyone so he wouldn't have to work in
[03:11] the field so much without waiting for
[03:14] the Swami to explain further
[03:16] he raised back to his farm to look for
[03:20] the hidden treasure he eat early dug a
[03:24] hole down into the soil but found
[03:29] nothing buried there he thought that he
[03:33] might be digging in the wrong place so
[03:36] he dug another hole and another and
[03:41] another and another unfortunately all
[03:48] the holes he excavated so strenuously
[03:52] produced nothing but dirt and one very
[03:56] tired
[03:57] filthy farmer
[04:01] some spiritual seekers are like that
[04:04] farmer they attend just a few lectures
[04:07] in which they learn a new meditation
[04:10] technique or a breath control exercise
[04:13] then filled with enthusiasm they
[04:17] practice it every day but when that
[04:21] practice fails to produce immediate
[04:23] results they soon lose their enthusiasm
[04:27] and before long they abandon that
[04:31] practice and steer clear of further
[04:34] lectures on the topic later they might
[04:38] happen to read a book about Kundalini
[04:41] awakening x' or astral bodies or other
[04:45] exotic things getting inspired they
[04:49] might try the spiritual practices
[04:51] prescribed in that book but after a
[04:55] while they might abandon that practice
[04:58] as well in this way seekers can dabble
[05:03] in one practice after another without
[05:06] exploring the Dubs of any spiritual
[05:09] tradition like the farmer who dug many
[05:13] shallow holes we must dig deep so to
[05:17] speak to discover the truth hidden
[05:20] within ourselves to support that inquiry
[05:24] the so called spiritual marketplace
[05:28] offers a wide variety of practices and
[05:31] teachings some of those might turn out
[05:35] to be authentic and powerful but others
[05:39] might not be useful at all obviously we
[05:44] have to be careful and well-informed
[05:46] when browsing in that big market back on
[05:51] the farm because the farmer found
[05:54] nothing in any of the holes he dug he
[05:58] concluded that the treasure must be
[06:01] buried very deeply in the ground so
[06:05] instead of digging any more shallow
[06:07] holes he decided to dig one very deep
[06:11] hole
[06:12] and to keep digging until the treasure
[06:16] was found he picked a new location and
[06:19] began digging once again he dug deeper
[06:24] and deeper and still deeper impatient to
[06:30] find the hidden treasure you've already
[06:36] figured out the problem here digging
[06:39] deep is a good strategy but it's crucial
[06:43] to dig in exactly the right place the
[06:46] farmer didn't know the location of the
[06:49] treasure he didn't even know what the
[06:52] treasure was was it gold coins or
[06:56] precious jewels here the story shows
[07:00] that we must be perfectly clear about
[07:03] what we seek in spiritual life and we
[07:08] must know exactly where to seek it only
[07:12] then will our efforts proved fruitful
[07:16] success and spiritual life is not merely
[07:19] a matter of effort our efforts must be
[07:22] properly directed in the meantime while
[07:27] the farmer was furiously digging away
[07:30] the Swamy happened to pass by
[07:33] he found a farmer at the bottom of a
[07:37] deep hole exhausted and caked with dirt
[07:42] ahora ha hey you said what's going on
[07:46] the farmer had grown frustrated and
[07:50] disappointed by this time he described
[07:53] his fruitless attempts to find the
[07:56] hidden treasure
[07:57] and he bemoaned his failure to find
[08:00] anything
[08:01] the Swami who was normally quiet and
[08:05] composed roared with laughter he said
[08:10] the treasure isn't hidden in the ground
[08:13] it's hidden inside of you the true
[08:17] source of happiness contentment and
[08:20] peace is concealed in your own heart
[08:24] you have to turn your attention within
[08:27] you have to learn how to practice self
[08:30] inquiry and meditation to find it
[08:33] stop all this useless diggings go take a
[08:37] bath in the river change your clothes
[08:40] and then come back so I can show you how
[08:43] to find the hidden treasure the farmer
[08:50] would never find the hidden treasure no
[08:53] matter how deep he dug because he was
[08:57] looking in the wrong place in the same
[09:00] way we will never find perfect peace and
[09:04] lasting contentment through various
[09:07] kinds of worldly activities because we
[09:11] too would be looking in the wrong place
[09:14] and like the farmer needed guidance from
[09:19] the wise Swami we need guidance from a
[09:22] qualified guru our spiritual journeys
[09:26] must be properly directed and it's
[09:30] crucial that the very first steps of
[09:33] those journeys should start off in the
[09:36] right direction this story shows four
[09:40] specific steps that are essential for
[09:44] starting a successful spiritual journey
[09:47] the first of those four steps is
[09:51] discernment recognizing the basic
[09:54] problem that worldly efforts will never
[09:58] lead to perfect peace and contentment
[10:01] like the farmer who eventually discerned
[10:04] that digging more holes would be useless
[10:07] no matter how deep the second step is
[10:13] dispassion specifically giving up
[10:17] further attempts to seek perfect peace
[10:20] and contentment through worldly efforts
[10:23] like the farmer who gave up on digging
[10:26] any more holes the third step is a set
[10:31] of six qualities that must be developed
[10:35] in order to be fully prepared for
[10:38] the spiritual journey ahead like the
[10:41] farmer who bathed in a river and changed
[10:44] his clothes before meeting again with
[10:47] the Swami the fourth step is having an
[10:52] intense desire for liberation for
[10:56] enlightenment for finding the true
[10:59] source of happiness and contentment
[11:01] within like the farmer who had an
[11:05] intense desire to find the treasure that
[11:09] happened to be hidden within himself
[11:12] [Music]
[11:22] these four initial steps are
[11:26] indispensable for the success of any
[11:29] spiritual journey the absence of any one
[11:33] of them virtually guarantees failure in
[11:36] addition to those four steps the story
[11:40] also relates to a well-known verse found
[11:43] in Sri Shankar Acharya 's popular text
[11:47] the Vega qu domine the crest jewel of
[11:51] discernment in verse three he says door
[11:56] love hum try um hey vai taught davon ooh
[12:01] craw hey to come my new shot WaMu shoot
[12:06] tuam Maha Purusha some Sri aha there are
[12:12] three gifts so rare that they can only
[12:16] be gained with God's grace
[12:19] Manu shot one birth as a human being
[12:23] MooMoo should tuam desire for liberation
[12:26] and maha purusha some Sri aha access to
[12:32] a qualified teacher to be born as a
[12:37] human being is rare indeed though we
[12:41] seldom think about it according to the
[12:44] ancient veronik scriptures human birth
[12:47] is just one possibility among 8.4
[12:52] million different species into which one
[12:55] could be born and according to modern
[12:58] science humans became the world's most
[13:02] advanced species only after a complex
[13:06] process of evolution that spanned a
[13:09] staggering four billion years
[13:12] in either case human birth blesses us
[13:16] with intellectual verbal and creative
[13:20] powers that no other creatures possess
[13:24] even though human beings are so highly
[13:27] evolved very few seem to recognize the
[13:31] fact that conventional worldly efforts
[13:34] to find happiness can never produce
[13:37] perfect peace and uninterrupted
[13:40] contentment a tiny minority perceive the
[13:46] value of seeking the true inner source
[13:49] of happiness by undertaking a process of
[13:52] spiritual growth those few people are
[13:56] called MooMoo shoes those who desire
[13:59] moksha freedom from suffering in the
[14:03] bhagavad-gita Shri Krishna laments the
[14:06] scarcity of such people when he says
[14:10] minutiae naam Sahasra shoe cash said yet
[14:15] that he said Taeyang amongst a thousand
[14:19] people
[14:19] one might strive for liberation
[14:23] according to shri krishna the odds of
[14:26] being a Mamu are about one in a thousand
[14:30] but the fact that you're watching this
[14:33] right now suggests that you happen to be
[14:36] that one in a thousand the farmer is
[14:40] another good example of a moo moo shu he
[14:45] understood that his ongoing efforts to
[14:48] grow crops would never produce lasting
[14:51] happiness that's why he sought the
[14:54] hidden treasure in the first place with
[14:58] the Swami's help he could eventually
[15:01] find the true source of happiness within
[15:04] himself
[15:05] and become enlightened free from
[15:08] suffering then he could cultivate his
[15:12] fields happily without feeling
[15:15] overburdened or resentful really
[15:19] speaking the farmer was a true visionary
[15:23] even though his efforts were badly
[15:25] misdirected at first the third rare gift
[15:31] in addition to human birth and the
[15:34] desire for liberation is access to a
[15:37] qualified teacher or guru here called
[15:41] Maha Purusha a great person an
[15:45] enlightened person many people represent
[15:50] themselves as gurus even if they lack
[15:53] the qualifications needed for that role
[15:57] to make matters worse it's often
[16:00] difficult for a student to accurately
[16:03] assess the qualifications of the Guru
[16:06] for these reasons finding a proper guru
[16:10] is rare indeed yet just like the farmer
[16:15] was blessed by the Swami's guidance you
[16:18] or anyone else can certainly be blessed
[16:22] by the guidance of a caring skillful
[16:25] guru who will lead you to find the
[16:28] priceless treasure hidden within the
[16:32] true source of happiness and contentment
[16:35] the treasure that is your own divine
[16:39] nature
[16:42] [Music]