Step 2:
Show Me The Happiness
Philosophical Lessons with Swamiji
Make sure you have worked through Step 1: The Big Picture of Life before starting Step 2.
We encourage you to move through these teachings sequentially for the best learning outcome. Click on the name of the class to be taken to your video on-demand lesson. Move at your own pace. Take some time to reflect, journal, walk. Return when you are ready for the next lesson.
When you complete all 7 Lessons below you can progress to Step 3: Fate & Destiny. When you have completed all 7 Steps, you might be interested in joining our Satsang community of students.
1: The Secrets of True Love
Its many layers explained
We are all crazy for love. It is the motivating force behind all that we do. It is also the most confusing, hurting, and illusive experience of all. What is going on? Why is it so hard? To help us understand, Swami Govindananda paints a picture of love in which we will all be able to see ourselves and those dear to us. This talk shows the many layers of love, what it is, how it effects you, and how you reflect it in your relationships. The importance of this subject cannot be overstated because it is relevant to everyone.
40 Minute Lesson
2: The Illusion of Happiness
Really?
Historically, saints and sages have said that our experience of happiness is deceptive. If this is so, how is it that we can all claim to have been happy at various times in our life? Should we deny our personal experiences, or do the sages mean something else by their teachings? Again, Swami Govindananda leads us through the maze of common understanding to give us clarity on the experiences that make up and shape our lives.
35 Minute Lesson
3: The Danger of Uncontrolled Desires
The root cause of all problems
Schopenhauer once wrote, “We are a thousand times more intent on acquiring wealth than we are on acquiring culture. Though it is obvious that what we are contributes more to our happiness than what we have.” This talk examines why desire has the power to shake and harm the very foundations of our existence – the energy of our sense organs, the mind and the soul itself. Let us find out the reason for desires and in so doing, defuse their power.
35 Minute Lesson
4: The Relevance of Psychic Powers
Do you need them?
There is tremendous misconception about psychic powers. Many doubt their existence, and those that do not, put far too much emphasis on them, believing they can find happiness and fulfilment through their attainment. Let us learn what the sages have to say about them – and let us too, see their significance in spiritual development. Many will be surprised at what they learn from this highly informative talk.
35 Minute Lesson
5: The Blind Search for Happiness
Do we succeed? Does it ever end?
We always want something newer, better, bigger, etc., and as a result become entangled in the ever multiplying maze of desires. The result is continual restlessness and feeling of incompleteness. The Bhagavad Gita says, “Even if a man is given all the opulences of the innumerable world regions, his inner mental condition will be no better than a beggar.” In this talk Swami Govindananda will give meaning to this quotation and show a way out of this maze.
35 Minute Lesson
6: The True Nature of Happiness & Sorrow
Both are an illusion, why?
The emotional pendulum of life constantly swings between happiness and sorrow. An occurrence that brings you happiness today, can lead to sorrow the next, and vice versa. Vedic sages explain that both experiences are an illusion, based on thought only, and that there is a much deeper purpose for them. Hear a wonderful story by Swami Govindananda about an old man, his son, and the horse they own, that gives meaning to the Vedic teaching.
30 Minute Lesson
7: Summary & Review of Steps 1 & 2
It’s good to be reminded!
In this session Swamiji reviews the previous 12 talks to remind you of the main points he has covered. It is important to have a sound grasp of the core principles of Vedic knowledge as we progress deeper in these timeless teachings.
35 Minute Lesson