Jai Maa,
I've been listening to the Sovereign Self audiobook, and am so delighted that Acharya Shunya is the narrator. Her calming voice and fierce passion and reverence for the teachings shine through in a way that is helping me to go deeply within and begin to rouse my higher self.
What I did not realize when I purchased this book was how relevant the teachings would be — that Shunya-ji would call out my ahaṃkāra in ways that gently demonstrate to me how to be fully present, to get real with myself, and to go deeper to find my true, sovereign self.
The first 'gotchas' felt miraculous, but were relatively small compared to those that have occurred since. The first was when, while on a walk at the park with my dog, I reached for my phone to speed up the reading — if only a little. Though I felt a tinge of shame for this, I justified it in my mind. “The quicker I absorb the content, the more I will know, faster, and the more conversational I will be, faster.” (It wasn’t until later chapters that I realized this was the knowledge vāsanā revealing itself as another ‘gotcha.’) The exact moment I raised my device to access the speed controls, Shunya-ji read: "The more slowly you listen, and the more you contemplate what you have heard, the more quickly your mind will decondition from its current state of bondage and open to true wisdom."
The next gotcha was on the same walk, just a little while later. Despite the first 'gotcha', my untrained, feral mind started wandering and I began contemplating indulging a craving for ice cream after the walk. I thought: “I had earned it after all!” But Shunya-ji read just then: "You see, ever since you forgot your nature — which is self-fulfilled, self-content, and radically happy — and became solely identified with your perishable body and ephemeral pleasures in a world marked by impermanence, you have looked for yourself and your happiness in ice cream cones…"
These moments jolted me to attention and I paused, realizing that I need to listen deeply and reverently. Since then, several more eye-opening truths have come to light, hitting home at the gut level where shame initially arose. “How could she know?! I’m so embarrassed.” This embarrassment has been quickly followed by a deep gratitude for being shown truth — things that I did not know the teacher was aware of; things that I was not aware of at a conscious level... from spiritual bypass, to the vasanas — particularly the knowledge vasana, as mentioned earlier.
My gratitude for our teacher and the Vedic teachings she has dedicated herself to transmitting to her students is boundless.
With great appreciation and love to all in this beautiful, sacred community 🌸
These 'gotcha' moments are priceless! Another word we sometimes use in this community for these is 'moksha moments'. They are those lightening-like moments where wisdom sparks from within, perhaps while listening to the teacher or when we remember an insight at the exact moment we need it - and in that moment we are free (experiencing a moment of moksha). In those moments, you became free of Shastra Vasana, you became free of ice cream cones. What a relief and joy to collect these moksha moments! Let go of the shame that you were caught in forgetfulness, and celebrate that you woke up from that forgetfulness for at least a moment! 🧡🙏🕉️