abandon_every
Abandon all self-concern, worry not about your welfare, material or spiritual,
abandon every
desire, gross or subtle, stop thinking of achievement of any kind.
Abandon every
attempt, just be; don't strive, don't struggle, let go every support, hold on to the blind sense of being, brushing off all else.
Abandon every
personal desire and use the power thus saved for changing the world!
absolute_perfection
82:
Absolute Perfection
is Here and Now.
Q: Is there not a state of
absolute perfection
which does not decay?
Absolute perfection
is here and now, not in some future, near or far.
absolute_reality
What he was, he is -- the
Absolute Reality
.
They do not see what causal connection can there be between a particular word and the
Absolute Reality
.
M: Quite so, the world of
Absolute Reality
, onto which your mind has projected a world of relative unreality is independent of yourself, for the very simple reason that it is yourself.
He assured you that you were already the
Absolute Reality
and there was nothing more to be done.
But the
Absolute Reality
is beyond both.
absolute_truth
Take it as the
absolute truth
.
No happening affects your real being -- this is the
absolute truth
.
Q: I must begin with some
absolute truth
.
The absolute proof of the
absolute truth
-- what is it, where is it?
It is the absolute in you that takes you to the absolute beyond you --
absolute truth
, love selflessness are the decisive factors in self-realisation.
absolutely_certain
It is entirely unexpected yet inevitable, infinitely familiar yet most surprising, beyond all hope yet
absolutely certain
.
He must be
absolutely certain
of the standing and competence of his Guru, otherwise his faith will not be absolute nor his action complete.
absolutely_free
The happiness of being
absolutely free
is beyond description.
People follow their leaders and when among the leaders appear some, great in heart and mind, and
absolutely free
from self-seeking, their impact will be enough to make the crudities and crimes of the present age impossible.
My world is
absolutely free
; everything in it is self- determined.
When you realise that you are
absolutely free
to be what you consent to be, that you are what you appear to be because of ignorance or indifference, you are free to revolt and change.
absolutely_true
He is warm-hearted and tender, shrewdly humorous, absolutely fearless and
absolutely true
-- inspiring, guiding and supporting all who come to him.
I was merely puzzling over it, until I realised that it is
absolutely true
.
To realise this as
absolutely true
, is liberation.
I merely say: if you trust my words and put them to test, you will for yourself discover how
absolutely true
they are.
act_accordingly
The fact is that I do not feel free to desire what I think I should, and when I seem to desire rightly, I do not
act accordingly
.
When you know that the world is one, that humanity is one, you will
act accordingly
.
M: You have two ways: you can give your heart and mind to self-discovery, or you accept my words on trust and
act accordingly
.
Q: I remember my desires, the choices made, the decisions taken and
act accordingly
.
Abandon all sense of separation, see yourself in all and
act accordingly
.
Know it to be your real being and
act accordingly
.
actual_experience
And can you validly talk about your own non-existence as an
actual experience
?
Q: How are we to distinguish the inner from the outer in
actual experience
?
M: My
actual experience
is not different.
It is a matter of
actual experience
that the self has being independent of mind and body.
Q: It may be a matter of
actual experience
to you, but it is not my case.
Behave accordingly: think, feel and act in harmony with the whole and the
actual experience
of what I say will dawn upon you in no time.
Q: Well, all
actual experience
s.
M: If the manifested is the sum total of all
actual experience
s, including their experiencers, how much of the total do you know?
Q: But what does it mean in
actual experience
?
You may know the theory, but without the
actual experience
of yourself as the impersonal and unqualified centre of being, love and bliss, mere verbal knowledge is sterile.
adhi_yoga
It reminds me of the Primal Yoga (
adhi yoga
), mentioned in the Rig-Veda which was described as the marrying of life with mind.
Yes, ultimately all Yogas end in your
adhi yoga
, the marriage of consciousness (the bride) to life (the bridegroom).
Q: In the Rigveda there is the mention of the
adhi yoga
, the Primordial Yoga, consisting of the marriage of pragna with Prana, which, as I understand, means the bringing together of wisdom and life.
In
adhi yoga
life itself is the Guru and the mind -- the disciple.
Q: Seen as the service of life by the mind, the
adhi yoga
is a perfect democracy.
affectionate_awareness
Affectionate awareness
is the crucial factor that brings Reality into focus.
As I talk to you, I am in the state of detached but
affectionate awareness
(turiya).
For establishing and maintaining relationship
affectionate awareness
expressed in direct action is required.
affectionate_detachment
It is as it is and then he looks at it with a smile of
affectionate detachment
.
But the general attitude will be of
affectionate detachment
, enormous goodwill, without expectation of return, constant giving without asking.
Expressions like dispassionate happiness,
affectionate detachment
, timelessness and causelessness of things and being -- they all sound strange and cause no response.
after_death
And the life is never so alive as
after death
.
M: What he thinks himself to be before death he continues to be
after death
.
Of being before birth and
after death
I know nothing.
Q: How does the jnani fare
after death
?
Q: What happens to that spark of life
after death
?
Q: I had started with the question about the condition of a man
after death
.
Q: Is there no transition to awareness
after death
?
Consciousness can only become more subtle and refined and that is what happens
after death
.
What will be their condition
after death
-- not physically, but psychologically?
How will you be
after death
?
The state before you were born was also the state
after death
, if you remember.
altogether_wrong
Q: Yes, one can see that ultimately to speak of one thing being the only cause of another thing is
altogether wrong
.
Q: When the body idea becomes obsessive, is it not
altogether wrong
?
Just as a man who hears sounds, but does not understand the language, may accuse the speaker of meaningless jabbering, and be
altogether wrong
.
Do see that the image you have of me may be
altogether wrong
.
Q: Some desires are
altogether wrong
.
M: Nothing is wrong with you, but the ideas you have of yourself are
altogether wrong
.
To say that what I am not conscious of does not exist, is
altogether wrong
.
always_present
Find him who is
always present
and your problem of spontaneous and perfect response will be solved.
Being and consciousness are
always present
together, but bliss flashes only occasionally.
The reading and the meaning will vary with the reader, but the paper is the common factor,
always present
, rarely perceived.
antelope_skin
Q: I see you sitting on an
antelope skin
.
And yet in India every holy man has his tiger, lion, leopard or
antelope skin
to sit on.
Just like the drum-hide in a temple, so is the
antelope skin
of a Yogi.
asking_questions
Stop
asking questions
.
Q: Once I give up
asking questions
, what am I to do?
Go deep into the meaning of the words: being, living, conscious, and you will stop running in circles,
asking questions
, but missing answers.
avoiding_pain
You are always seeking pleasure,
avoiding pain
, always after happiness and peace.
The personal self by its very nature is constantly pursuing pleasure and
avoiding pain
.
When you recognise the 'I' as it is, a bundle of desires and fears, and the sense of 'mine', as embracing all things and people needed for the purpose of
avoiding pain
and securing pleasure, you will see that the 'I' and the 'mine' are false ideas, having no foundation in reality.
awareness_beyond
Q: Is not
awareness beyond
the mind?
But still there is a difference between awareness as reflected in consciousness and pure
awareness beyond
consciousness.
And pure
awareness beyond
consciousness is the supreme Guru.
awareness_remains
Only
awareness remains
.
The personality gives place to the witness, then the witness goes and pure
awareness remains
.
M: Emptiness remains,
awareness remains
, pure light of the conscious being remains.
basic_difference
What is the
basic difference
between us?
Maharaj: There is no
basic difference
.
Questioner: There is a
basic difference
between us.
Q: Here lies the
basic difference
!
Q: I happen to meet many young people coming from the West and I find that there is a
basic difference
when I compare them to the Indians.
Q: Between chance and destiny there is a
basic difference
.
M: Between the remembered and the actual there is a
basic difference
which can be observed from moment to moment.
become_aware
Bring your self into focus,
become aware
of your own existence.
Become aware
of that pure light and you will never lose it.
By all means
become aware
-- this will bring you to the self and you will realise that there is neither ignorance nor delusion in it.
Q: Can the person
become aware
of itself by itself?
Become aware
of the unconscious .
become_god
To
become God
, what must I learn?
Q: You mean to say that I
become God
merely by giving up the desire to
become God
?
beginningless_begins
27: The
Beginningless Begins
Forever.
The
beginningless begins
forever.
being_alive
This is a fact, but it does not make you feel guilty of
being alive
.
As if she never forgave me my crime of having been born, she made me feel guilty of
being alive
.
Q: I find
being alive
a painful state.
being_aware
This 'I am-ness' is, being conscious of consciousness,
being aware
of itself.
Just
being aware
and affectionate -- intensely.
What you need is to be aware of
being aware
.
This union of the seer and the seen happens when the seer becomes conscious of himself as the seer, he is not merely interested in the seen, which he is anyhow, but also interested in being interested, giving attention to attention, aware of
being aware
.
If you say 'I am aware', it only means: 'I am conscious of thinking about
being aware
'.
being_born
Take for example, the idea of
being born
.
Q: But you agree that living a life -- just living the humdrum life of the world,
being born
to die and dying to be born -- advances man by its sheer volume, just like the river finds its way to the sea by the sheer mass of the water it gathers.
Q: Just as the waking state exists in seed form during sleep, so does the world the child creates on
being born
exist before its birth.
But the main factor, the most crucial, was the fact of
being born
the son of a king.
Q:
Being born
is a fact.
But what are all the drugs compared to the drug that gave you this most unusual experience of
being born
and living in sorrow and fear, in search of happiness, which does not come, or does not last.
being_conscious
This 'I am-ness' is,
being conscious
of consciousness, being aware of itself.
In pure
being conscious
ness arises; in consciousness the world appears and disappears.
Therefore the very consciousness of
being conscious
is already a movement in awareness.
We also know that we perceive -- we are conscious and also aware of
being conscious
.
Consciousness implies a conscious being, an object of consciousness and the fact of
being conscious
.
You are always conscious of the mind, but you are not aware of yourself as
being conscious
.
But here we mean by search the search for oneself as the root of
being conscious
, as the light beyond the mind.
But we take no advantage of this joy of
being conscious
, we do not go into it and purify it of all that is foreign to it.
Consciousness is an attribute while awareness is not; one can be aware of
being conscious
, but not conscious of awareness.
M: Be aware of
being conscious
and seek the source of consciousness.
The person may be conscious, but is not aware of
being conscious
.
They depend on my
being conscious
.
M: And your
being conscious
depends on what?
Your
being conscious
of what you call transmission of wisdom shows that wisdom has not yet been transmitted.
There will always be conscious beings wondering about the fact of their
being conscious
and enquiring into its cause and aim.
being_free
M: By
being free
from all desire and fear, from the very idea of being a person.
His freedom lies in his
being free
to fulfil the need of the moment, to obey the necessity of the situation.
Freedom to do what one likes is really bondage, while
being free
to do what one must, what is right, is real freedom.
In matters of daily life the knower of the real has no advantage: he may be at a disadvantage rather:
being free
from greed and fear, he does not protect himself.
Being free
from the false is good in itself, it wants no reward.
Q: If being happy is the same as
being free
from fear and worry, cannot it be said that absence of trouble is the cause of happiness?
What matters supremely is sincerity, earnestness; you must really have had surfeit of being the person you are, now see the urgent need of
being free
of this unnecessary self-identification with a bundle of memories and habits.
being_happy
52:
Being Happy
, Making Happy is the Rhythm of Life.
Being happy
-- making happy -- this is the rhythm of love.
Q: If
being happy
is the same as being free from fear and worry, cannot it be said that absence of trouble is the cause of happiness?
Don't be restless about 'being quiet', miserable about '
being happy
'.
When the centre of selfishness is no longer, all desires for pleasure and fear of pain cease; one is no longer interested in
being happy
; beyond happiness there is pure intensity, inexhaustible energy, the ecstasy of giving from a perennial source.
being_remains
Whatever you think, say, or do, this sense of immutable and affectionate
being remains
as the ever-present background of the mind.
'I am' as the sense of
being remains
.
Unidentified
being remains
.
Being remains
, but not self-being.
M: Emptiness remains, awareness remains, pure light of the conscious
being remains
.
being_unconscious
M: Yes, I am aware of
being unconscious
.
Q:
Being unconscious
?
And what is the advantage of
being unconscious
?
believe_yourself
M: When you
believe yourself
to be a person, you see persons everywhere.
They exist because you
believe yourself
born to die.
See that you are not what you
believe yourself
to be.
You are as you
believe yourself
to be.
M: As long as you
believe yourself
to be a body, you will ascribe causes to everything.
M: Understand first that you are not the person you
believe yourself
to be.
It made you
believe yourself
to be what you are not.
I can see, beyond the least shadow of doubt, that you are not what you
believe yourself
to be.
You may not be what you
believe yourself
to be, but it gives you continuity, your future flows into the present and becomes the past without jolts.
The value of regular meditation is that it takes you away from the humdrum of daily routine and reminds you that you are not what you
believe yourself
to be.
beyond_awareness
He is
beyond awareness
itself.
But the fundamental reality is
beyond awareness
, beyond the three states of becoming, being and not-being.
Q: You speak of the mind, of the witnessing consciousness beyond the mind and of the Supreme, which is
beyond awareness
.
The body is looked after by the brain, the brain is illumined by consciousness; awareness watches over consciousness; is there anything
beyond awareness
?
When you go
beyond awareness
, there is a state of non-duality, in which there is no cognition, only pure being, which may be as well called non-being, if by being you mean being something in particular.
beyond_being
It is the nameless, contentless, effortless and spontaneous state,
beyond being
and not being.
It is
beyond being
and not being.
Awareness is my nature; ultimately I am
beyond being
and non-being.
He is
beyond being
and not being.
These come from ignorance of reality, not from reality itself, which is indescribable,
beyond being
and not-being.
Beyond being
and not-being lies the immensity of the real.
Or you just remain --
beyond being
and non-being.
M: In the void
beyond being
and non-being, beyond consciousness.
Consciousness and life -- both you may call God; but you are beyond both, beyond God,
beyond being
and not-being.
beyond_consciousness
Q: How does one go
beyond consciousness
into awareness?
Beyond consciousness
where are time and space?
M: That which cannot be given name and form, for it is without quality and
beyond consciousness
.
You may say it is a point in consciousness, which is
beyond consciousness
.
Like a hole in the paper is both in the paper and yet not of paper, so is the supreme state in the very centre of consciousness, and yet
beyond consciousness
.
To go
beyond consciousness
is the supreme state.
The very desire to go
beyond consciousness
is still in consciousness.
But I am
beyond consciousness
and, therefore, in consciousness I cannot say what I am.
M: It has no answer in consciousness and, therefore, helps to go
beyond consciousness
.
The universal is beyond all name and shape,
beyond consciousness
and character, pure unselfconscious being.
Q: What I do not follow is what you say about going
beyond consciousness
.
M: You are right, there can be no experience
beyond consciousness
.
There is a state
beyond consciousness
, which is not unconscious.
What is this sense of identity due to, if not to something
beyond consciousness
?
Once you realise that bodily existence is but a state of mind, a movement in consciousness, that the ocean of consciousness is infinite and eternal, and that, when in touch with consciousness, you are the witness only, you will be able to withdraw
beyond consciousness
altogether.
Q: You say you are the silent witness and also you are
beyond consciousness
.
If you are
beyond consciousness
, what are you witnessing to?
Reality is
beyond consciousness
.
To go beyond them you must go
beyond consciousness
, which is possible only when you look at consciousness as something that happens to you and not in you, as something external, alien, superimposed.
M: In the void beyond being and non-being,
beyond consciousness
.
Of course, the Guru must be a real one, who is beyond the body and the mind,
beyond consciousness
itself, beyond space and time, beyond duality and unity, beyond understanding and description.
You are the Supreme Reality beyond the world and its creator,
beyond consciousness
and its witness, beyond all assertions and denials.
But still there is a difference between awareness as reflected in consciousness and pure awareness
beyond consciousness
.
And pure awareness
beyond consciousness
is the supreme Guru.
How to go
beyond consciousness
?
The three states -- sleeping, dreaming and waking are all in consciousness, the manifested; what you call unconsciousness will also be manifested -- in time;
beyond consciousness
altogether lies the unmanifested.
A man deprived of outer or inner sensations blanks out, or goes
beyond consciousness
and unconsciousness into the birthless and deathless state.
realise once for all that neither your body nor your mind, nor even your consciousness is yourself and stand alone in your true nature
beyond consciousness
and unconsciousness.
beyond_experience
No experience can answer it, for the self is
beyond experience
.
If you seek the Immutable, go
beyond experience
.
You need not gather any more, rather you must go
beyond experience
.
M: Samadhi is
beyond experience
.
The real is
beyond experience
.
beyond_space
He is without location, placeless,
beyond space
and time, beyond the world.
Beyond space
and time I am, uncaused, uncausing, yet the very matrix of existence.
What do you mean by saying that you are
beyond space
and time?
Of course, the Guru must be a real one, who is beyond the body and the mind, beyond consciousness itself,
beyond space
and time, beyond duality and unity, beyond understanding and description.
Beyond space
and time is the here and the now of reality.
The Immutable Reality lies
beyond space
and time.
But at the root of the universe there is pure awareness,
beyond space
and time, here and now.
94: You are
Beyond Space
and Time.
But when you know yourself as
beyond space
and time -- in contact with them only at the point of here and now, otherwise all-pervading and all-containing, unapproachable, unassailable, invulnerable -- you will be afraid no longer.
beyond_time
The sense, or taste of 'I am-ness' is not absolutely
beyond time
.
That in which both the knower and the known arise and set, is
beyond time
.
I am
beyond time
.
I may be quite certain that I am
beyond time
and space, and yet unable to locate myself at will at some point of time and space.
It is entirely uncaused, independent, complete in itself,
beyond time
and space, mind and matter.
M: It is
beyond time
.
M: When you are love itself, you are
beyond time
and numbers.
M: He who is
beyond time
-- the Un-nameable.
And since time and space are in the mind, I am
beyond time
and space, eternal and omnipresent.
beyond_words
What prevails is that which cannot be described, that which is
beyond words
.
Beyond words
and thoughts is he.
It is useless to struggle with words to express what is
beyond words
.
Hence the absolute need to go
beyond words
and move over to my side.
I admit, no verbal description will do, when the state described is
beyond words
.
Either you tell us that your state is
beyond words
, or that there is no difference; that where we see a difference, you see none.
Q: If you are
beyond words
, what shall we talk about?
It is also all-pervading, all-conquering, intense
beyond words
.
Q: If the real is
beyond words
and mind, why do we talk so much about it?
The real is, behind and
beyond words
, incommunicable, directly experienced, explosive in its effect on the mind.
bodily_existence
The mist of
bodily existence
is lifting -- the burden of the body is growing less from day to day.
Use every opportunity to remind yourself that you are in bondage, that whatever happens to you is due to the fact of your
bodily existence
.
Once you realise that
bodily existence
is but a state of mind, a movement in consciousness, that the ocean of consciousness is infinite and eternal, and that, when in touch with consciousness, you are the witness only, you will be able to withdraw beyond consciousness altogether.
body_appears
M: Just as the knower of the
body appears
at birth, so he disappears at death.
M: The
body appears
in your mind, your mind is the content of your consciousness; you are the motionless witness of the river of consciousness which changes eternally without changing you in any way.
This
body appears
in your mind; in my mind nothing is.
Inside the
body appears
to be an observer and outside -- a world under observation.
body_dies
It disappears when the
body dies
, like the spark extinguishes when the incense stick burns out.
M: In death only the
body dies
.
Q: When some
body dies
what exactly happens?
Every
body dies
as he lives.
In my world nobody is born and no
body dies
.
When the food is stopped, the
body dies
and the mind dissolves.
Q: When your
body dies
, you remain.
When the
body dies
, the kind of life you live now -- succession of physical and mental events -- comes to an end.
M: What is it to me that the
body dies
?
body_idea
Having gone beyond the I-am-the-
body idea
, he had acquired a mental state so joyful, peaceful and glorious that everything appeared to be worthless compared to it.
Q: When the
body idea
becomes obsessive, is it not altogether wrong?
M: I am glad you have abandoned the l-am-the-
body idea
, the main source of error and suffering.
92: Go Beyond the l-am-the-
body Idea
.
call_god
The picture I call the world, the painter I
call God
.
That part of me which you may
call God
will look after the world.
Consciousness and life -- both you may
call God
; but you are beyond both, beyond God, beyond being and not-being.
This basic identity -- you may
call God
, or Brahman, or the matrix (Prakriti), the words matters little -- is only the realisation that all is one.
cannot_change
You
cannot change
the course of events, but you can change your attitude and what really matters is the attitude and not the bare event.
You
cannot change
the image without changing the face.
I only said: You
cannot change
the world before changing yourself.
The conscious
cannot change
fundamentally, it can only modify.
M: That which
cannot change
, remains.
M: You;
cannot change
your circumstances, but your attitudes you can change.
cannot_die
On the other hand, he who is afraid of freedom
cannot die
.
Q: You mean that one who
cannot die
, cannot live?
Once they have heard of it, a seed was sown which
cannot die
.
What was born, must die; what was never born
cannot die
.
causal_link
Q: Since my seeing the contradiction makes it go, is there no
causal link
between my seeing and its going?
When things repeatedly happen together, we tend to see a
causal link
between them.
When at some time and place some miracle is attributed to some person, he will not establish any
causal link
between events and people, nor will he allow any conclusions to be drawn.
Q: Is there any
causal link
between my focussing the 'I am' and the breaking of the shell?
cause_suffering
Action, in which you are not emotionally involved and which is beneficial and does not
cause suffering
will not bind you.
Sensations as such, however strong, do not
cause suffering
.
it is memory and imagination that
cause suffering
.
cease_being
If in the meantime you want many other things and are engaged in their pursuit, your main purpose may be delayed until you grow wiser and
cease being
torn between contradictory urges.
Just
cease being
interested.
Cease being
fascinated by the content of your consciousness.
changeless_background
All appearance and disappearance presupposes a change against some
changeless background
.
You are the
changeless background
, against which changes are perceived.
There is no need of a
changeless background
to notice changes.
But the very perception of change -- does it not necessitate a
changeless background
?
changeless_reality
Overlook the movable and you will find yourself to be the ever-present,
changeless reality
, inexpressible, but solid like a rock.
The particular is born and reborn, changing name and shape, the jnani is the
Changeless Reality
, which makes the changeful possible.
It is the
changeless reality
itself.
cinema_screen
M: I see only consciousness, and know everything to be but consciousness, as you know the picture on the
cinema screen
to be but light.
To change the picture you merely change the film, you do not attack the
cinema screen
!
The world of my own creation may be quite unlike the ultimate, the real world, just like the
cinema screen
is quite unlike the pictures projected onto it.
I am like a
cinema screen
-- clear and empty -- the pictures pass over it and disappear, leaving it as clear and empty as before.
Yours is the
cinema screen
, the light as well as the seeing power, but the picture is not you.
All is in the picture exposed on the
cinema screen
, nothing in the light, including what you take yourself to be, the person.
comes_spontaneously
Q: In my present state the 'I am the body' idea
comes spontaneously
, while the 'I am pure being' idea must be imposed on the mind as something true but not experienced.
It
comes spontaneously
and immediately, because of its timelessness.
It all
comes spontaneously
, you need only hold on to the 'I am'.
common_factor
Self is the
common factor
at the root of all experience, the awareness in which everything happens.
In reality each experience has its own experiencer and the sense of identity is due to the
common factor
at the root of all experiencer- experience relations.
The
common factor
is the gold.
The reading and the meaning will vary with the reader, but the paper is the
common factor
, always present, rarely perceived.
You are the
common factor
, the only link between the minds.
Q: There must be some
common factor
which unites us.
M: To find the
common factor
you must abandon all distinctions.
common_man
Childhood, youth, marriage, progeny -- Maruti lived the usual humdrum and eventless life of a
common man
till his middle age, with no inkling at all of the sainthood that was to follow.
What the Yogi secures by renunciation (tyaga) the
common man
realises through experience (bhoga).
Q: But to the
common man
death makes a difference.
This is your last illusion that you are a jnani, that you are different from, and superior to, the
common man
.
common_world
All the dreams are superimposed over a
common world
.
Even if there were such a
common world
of things and forces, it is not the world in which we live.
Q: Our
common world
, in which we live.
completely_free
Will one never be
completely free
?
M: You are
completely free
even now.
You are
completely free
.
It is
completely free
of contradictions.
Your true being is entirely un-self-conscious,
completely free
from all self-identification with whatever it may be, gross, subtle or transcendental.
conscious_being
Consciousness implies a
conscious being
, an object of consciousness and the fact of being conscious.
Call it un
conscious being
.
The universal is beyond all name and shape, beyond consciousness and character, pure unself
conscious being
.
The only happiness worth the name is the natural happiness of
conscious being
.
Be what you are:
conscious being
and don't stray away from yourself.
M: Emptiness remains, awareness remains, pure light of the
conscious being
remains.
Gradual change does not take you to a new level of
conscious being
.
There will always be
conscious being
s wondering about the fact of their being conscious and enquiring into its cause and aim.
This timeless source of
conscious being
is what Maharaj calls the self-nature, self-being, swarupa.
Whoever is puzzled by his very existence as a
conscious being
and earnestly wants to find his own source, can grasp the ever-present sense of 'I am' and dwell on it assiduously and patiently, till the clouds obscuring the mind dissolve and the heart of being is seen in all its glory.
consciousness_arising
56:
Consciousness Arising
, World Arises.
Consciousness arising
, the world arises.
consciousness_needs
Consciousness needs
a vehicle and an instrument for its manifestation.
Consciousness needs
life to grow.
The cloud needs the sun to become visible, and
consciousness needs
being focussed in awareness.
constant_factor
Pain is the
constant factor
.
Find the permanent in the fleeting, the one
constant factor
in every experience.
Q: What is this
constant factor
?
There must be some
constant factor
bridging the gaps in consciousness.
A shadow on your neighbour's face, the immense and all-pervading sorrow of existence is a
constant factor
in your life, but you refuse to take notice.
Is not the fact of awareness the
constant factor
?
constant_repetition
M:
Constant repetition
of the mantra is something the person does not do for one's own sake.
While it is self contained and free from inner contradictions, how can we know that it is not a product of fertile imagination, nurtured and enriched by
constant repetition
?
Q: This
constant repetition
of a few words, is it not a kind of madness?
create_problems
Such expressions
create problems
.
But you need not
create problems
for me and then ask me to solve them.
You need some food, clothing and shelter for you and yours, but this will not
create problems
as long as greed is not taken for a need.
Life and death do not
create problems
; pains and pleasures come and go, experienced and forgotten.
It is memory and anticipation that
create problems
of attainment or avoidance, coloured by like and dislike.
dead_already
M: I am
dead already
.
The jnani is not afraid because his mind is
dead already
.
M: The jnani is
dead already
.
M: I am
dead already
.
M: But I am
dead already
, or, rather, neither alive nor dead.
dead_earnest
But they all are of some value, only if you are in
dead earnest
.
When you are in
dead earnest
, you bend every incident, every second of your life to your purpose.
All you need is to be in
dead earnest
.
deep_silence
When you understand that names and shapes are hollow shells without any content whatsoever, and what is real is nameless and formless, pure energy of life and light of consciousness, you will be at peace -- immersed in the
deep silence
of reality.
In
deep silence
the self contemplates the body.
The great peace, the
deep silence
, the hidden beauty of reality remain.
deep_sleep
Behold, the
deep sleep
in which there is no notion of being this or that.
Q: In
deep sleep
there is no experience of the present reality.
M: The blankness of
deep sleep
is due entirely to the lack of specific memories.
Q: Can I make myself remember my state of
deep sleep
?
Q: And your
deep sleep
?
There can be no consciousness without awareness, but there can be awareness without consciousness, as in
deep sleep
.
In
deep sleep
and turiya it is the Self.
Something akin to
deep sleep
, yet conscious all the same.
It is like
deep sleep
-- you do not give up your bed when you fall sleep -- you just forget it.
In
deep sleep
you are not conditioned.
In
deep sleep
you are not a self-conscious person, yet you are alive.
The waking state differs from
deep sleep
in the presence of the witness.
direct_experience
M: The
direct experience
of being, knowing and loving.
Your book knowledge is useful to begin with, but soon it must be given up for
direct experience
, which by its very nature is inexpressible.
M: To have the
direct experience
of a country one must go and live there.
M: The power of conviction, based on personal realisation, on one's own
direct experience
.
Direct experience
is the only valid confirmation.
Even a
direct experience
, however sublime, merely bears testimony, nothing more.
Direct experience
is the final proof.
Once you can say with confidence born from
direct experience
: 'I am the world, the world is myself', you are free from desire and fear on one hand and become totally responsible for the world on the other.
We talk of God, Truth and Love, but instead of
direct experience
we have definitions.
direct_insight
You know you are the ultimate observer by
direct insight
, not by a logical process based on observation.
Then comes awareness, the
direct insight
into the whole of consciousness, the totality of the mind.
For the self is not known through words -- only
direct insight
will reveal it.
Your
direct insight
tells you that yourself you know first, for nothing exists to you without your being there to experience its existence.
direct_knowledge
You take yourself to be what they suggest; having no
direct knowledge
of yourself, you have mere ideas; all mediocre, second-hand, by hearsay.
To know by being is
direct knowledge
.
In
direct knowledge
is based on sensation and memory, on proximity of the perceiver and his percept, confined with the contrast between the two.
But how is one to cross over from a verbal statement to
direct knowledge
?
disappear_together
M: Consciousness and the world appear and
disappear together
, hence they are two aspects of the same state.
The three appear and
disappear together
.
The observer and his observation as well as the world observed all appear and
disappear together
.
The two appear and
disappear together
.
dive_deep
Dive deep
within and find what is real in you.
Dive deep
within yourself and you will find it easily and simply.
But if you disregard all teachings, all books, anything out into words and
dive deep
ly within yourself and find yourself, this alone will solve all your problems and leave you in full mastery of every situation, because you will not be dominated by your ideas about the situation.
As you
dive deep
into yourself in search of your true nature, you will discover that only your body is small and only your memory is short; while the vast ocean of life is yours.
Dive deep
into yourself and find the source from where all meaning flows.
dream_state
But you and your world are
dream state
s.
Henceforward, when we talk of the waking state, we shall include the
dream state
too.
In the waking and
dream state
s it is the person.
In the waking state the world emerges due to ignorance and takes one into a waking-
dream state
.
The three states are only varieties of the
dream state
.
Q: Your assumption that we are in a
dream state
makes your position unassailable.
early_childhood
Q: From
early childhood
I was taught to think that I am limited to my name and shape.
I only know that it comes from
early childhood
.
Q: I have read recently a report about a little girl who was very cruelly handled in her
early childhood
.
M: A vague memory remains, like the memory of a dream, or
early childhood
.
earning_money
of driving a car, or
earning money
.
It is much more difficult than
earning money
.
There will be marriage, there will be children, there will be
earning money
to maintain a family; all this will happen in the natural course of events, for destiny must fulfil itself; you will go through it without resistance, facing tasks as they come, attentive and thorough, both in small things and big.
east_pakistan
Look at the horrors in
East Pakistan
[1971, now Bangla Desh].
Q: There is suffering and bloodshed in
East Pakistan
at the present moment.
The Bengali of
East Pakistan
is a fact and his suffering is a fact.
embracing_love
When all the false selfidentifications are thrown away, what remains is all-
embracing love
.
I used to sit for hours together, with, nothing but the 'I am' in my mind and soon peace and joy and a deep all-
embracing love
became my normal state.
Moments of deep insight and all-
embracing love
purify the mind, while desires and fears, envies and anger, blind beliefs and intellectual arrogance pollute and dull the psyche.
Persevere in such indifference and it will blossom into an all-pervading and all-
embracing love
.
emotionally_involved
Action, in which you are not
emotionally involved
and which is beneficial and does not cause suffering will not bind you.
An event becomes an experience only when I am
emotionally involved
.
Unless you are
emotionally involved
, you may argue with me, but there will be no real understanding between us.
endless_chatter
How often I tell myself: enough, please stop, enough of this
endless chatter
of sentences repeated round and round!
Their
endless chatter
distracts and exhausts me.
You may work with others and for others, alert and friendly, and grow more fully than in solitude, which may make you dull or leave you at the mercy of your mind's
endless chatter
.
endless_succession
The moment we talk of picture in the mind, which itself is in the picture, we come to an
endless succession
of witnesses, the higher witness witnessing the lower.
Gods and their universes come and go, avatars follow each other in
endless succession
, and in the end we are back at the source.
This is your waking state -- your consciousness shifts from sensation to sensation, from perception to perception, from idea to idea, in
endless succession
.
Feelings, thoughts and actions race before the watcher in
endless succession
, leaving traces in the brain and creating an illusion of continuity.
There is no central point each action begets another, meaninglessly and painfully, in
endless succession
.
They just rotate in
endless succession
.
Q: On the screen of my mind images follow each other in
endless succession
.
Q: All I know is the stream of consciousness, an
endless succession
of events.
M: The least you can expect is an
endless succession
of visitors who will make your abode into a free and open guesthouse.
To myself I am the infinite expanse of consciousness in which innumerable persons emerge and disappear in
endless succession
.
endless_suffering
Not to know, and not to know that one does not know, is the cause of
endless suffering
.
To identify the two is a grievous mistake and the cause of
endless suffering
.
M: Without it you will be consumed by desires and fears, repeating themselves meaninglessly in
endless suffering
.
entire_universe
No thing in existence has a particular cause; the
entire universe
contributes to the existence of even the smallest thing; nothing could be as it is without the universe being what it is.
'Would people know that nothing can happen unless the
entire universe
makes it happen, they would achieve much more with less expenditure of energy.
Even if it is, it is only so from the mind's point of view, but In fact the
entire universe
(mahadakash) exists only in consciousness (chidakash), while I have my stand in the Absolute (paramakash).
The
entire universe
contributes to the least thing.
The
entire universe
strives to fulfil a desire born of compassion.
The
entire universe
of pain is born of desire.
Entire universe
s are imploding and exploding every moment -- am I to cry over them?
I disapprove of the
entire universe
, why only a skin?
I mean the totality of being, the ocean of consciousness, the
entire universe
of all that is and knows.
The
entire universe
is his body, all life is his life.
M: In every event the
entire universe
is reflected.
Even taking the empirical point of view, it is obvious that everything is the cause of everything, that everything is as it is, because the
entire universe
is as it is.
When you realise the depth and fullness of your love of yourself, you know that every living being and the
entire universe
are included in your affection.
Of the
entire universe
you are the subtle cause.
M: The
entire universe
contributes incessantly to your existence.
Hence the
entire universe
is your body.
Within the immensity of space floats a tiny atom of consciousness and in it the
entire universe
is contained.
Not only is the
entire universe
reflected in man, but also the power to control the universe is waiting to be used by him.
M: The
entire universe
is your Guru.
In that sense the
entire universe
becomes a school of Yoga (yogakshetra).
What you do not know is that the
entire universe
is your body and you need not be afraid of it.
Once the conviction: 'I am not the body' becomes so well grounded that he can no longer feel, think and act for and on behalf of the body, he will easily discover that he is the universal being, knowing, acting, that in him and through him the
entire universe
is real, conscious and active.
The
entire universe
is his own, including his disciples with their petty plans.
Nothing in particular affects him, or, which comes to the same, the
entire universe
affects him in equal measure.
The moment you say: 'I am', the
entire universe
comes into being along with its creator.
For anything to happen, the
entire universe
must coincide.
Your very body would not exist without the
entire universe
contributing to its creation and survival.
It contains the
entire universe
and with space to spare!
Just be one with yourself and you will be one with all, at home in the
entire universe
.
The
entire universe
is at his disposal.
entire_world
The
entire world
is a Picture.
Q: And how do you help the
entire world
?
Q: The
entire world
is a stain.
eternal_life
Something exploded within him, as it were, giving birth to a cosmic consciousness, a sense of
eternal life
.
He walked barefooted on his way to the Himalayas where he planned to pass the rest of his years in quest of a
eternal life
.
Eternal life
, he perceived, was not to be sought for; he already had it.
Q: I can now see that the secret of India's
eternal life
lies in these dimensions of existence, of which India was always the custodian.
ever_changing
Your insistence on causelessness removes all hope of the world
ever changing
.
Whatever name and shape you give to its expressions, it is like the ocean -- n
ever changing
,
ever changing
.
You imagine reality to stand apart from names and forms, while to me names and forms are the
ever changing
expressions of reality and not apart from it.
ever_present
A thing focussed in the now is with me, for I am
ever present
; it is my own reality that I impart to the present event.
It is a timeless state,
ever present
.
M: Contemplate life as infinite, undivided,
ever present
, ever active, until you realise yourself as one with it.
We call it Sadashiva, who is
ever present
in the hearts of men.
every_experience
And in
every experience
there arises the experiencer of it.
But the source of all that is, is the Infinite Possibility, the Supreme Reality, which is in you and which throws its power and light and love on
every experience
.
And it is the common matrix of
every experience
.
Every impression is erased,
every experience
-- rejected.
Just as for building a temple we need stone and mortar, wood and iron, glass and tiles, so for making a man into a divine sage, a master of life and death, one needs the material of
every experience
.
M: Just as the taste of salt pervades the great ocean and every single drop of sea-water carries the same flavour, so
every experience
gives me the touch of reality, the ever fresh realisation of my own being.
Find the permanent in the fleeting, the one constant factor in
every experience
.
The beingness in being, the awareness in consciousness, the interest in
every experience
-- that is not describable, yet perfectly accessible, for there is nothing else.
When the mind is in its natural state, it reverts to silence spontaneously after
every experience
or, rather,
every experience
happens against the background of silence.
Chit is the link, the bridge between extremes, the balancing and uniting factor in
every experience
.
Awareness contains
every experience
.
But he who is aware is beyond
every experience
.
Every experience
can be the ground for samadhi.
On the other hand, the self is the experiencing factor in
every experience
and thus, in a way, validates the multiplicity of experiences.
As I can see,
every experience
is its own reality.
M: At the back of
every experience
is the Self and its interest in the experience.
It is the discovery of the timeless factor in
every experience
.
Just like in all the colours light is the colourless factor, so in
every experience
awareness is present, yet it is not an experience.
My feeling is that all that happens in space and time happens to me, that
every experience
is my experience every form is my form.
every_moment
Entire universes are imploding and exploding
every moment
-- am I to cry over them?
At
every moment
it is but a reflection of yourself.
At
every moment
of your life you know what you need to know.
M: Just as every wave subsides into the ocean, so does
every moment
return to its source.
Just as every drop of the ocean carries the taste of the ocean, so does
every moment
carry the taste of eternity.
M: It happens
every moment
, but you are not alert enough.
At
every moment
whatever comes to you unasked, comes from God and will surely help you, if you make the fullest use of it.
Becoming has, apparently, no beginning and no end, for it restarts
every moment
.
After all, you are what you are
every moment
of your life, but you are never conscious of it, except, maybe, at the point of awakening from sleep.
At
every moment
, whatever happens now, is for the best.
M: By keeping your mind clear and clean, by living your life in full awareness of
every moment
as it happens, by examining and dissolving one's desires and fears as soon as they arise.
every_movement
I feel that the trinity of knowing, knower and known can be seen in
every movement
of life.
Your every action will be beneficial,
every movement
will be a blessing.
Give up all working for a future, concentrate totally on the now, be concerned only with your response to
every movement
of life as it happens.
everybody_wants
Q: The world is full of desires:
Everybody wants
something or other.
Q:
Everybody wants
to live, to exist.
M:
Everybody wants
to be active, but where do his actions originate?
everything_else
Everything else
is but a picture made of light.
Stay with it, and reject
everything else
.
Everything else
moves -- not me.
In
everything else
confidence comes with experience.
It just accepts the old self along with
everything else
.
I craved for love above
everything else
and love, the simple, instinctive love of a mother for her child was denied me.
Bringing the mind to the feeling 'I am' merely helps in turning the mind away from
everything else
.
M: Hold on to the sense 'I am' to the exclusion of
everything else
.
Above
everything else
you cherish yourself.
It happens, like
everything else
.
everything_happens
Self is the common factor at the root of all experience, the awareness in which
everything happens
.
There is consciousness in which
everything happens
.
The 'I am' remains as the witness, but it is by the will of God that
everything happens
.
33:
Everything Happens
by Itself.
M: From my point of view
everything happens
by itself, quite spontaneously.
M:
Everything happens
all the time, but you must be ready for it.
All happened as it happened because it had to happen
everything happens
as it does, because the universe is as it is.
Everything happens
, but there is a continuous cancelling out, and in the end it is as if nothing happened.
M: Well, in the course of time
everything happens
.
With me
everything happens
as it must.
exist_without
Can you
exist without
knowing?
M: Surely you can
exist without
memory.
Q: If the self is not the body nor the mind, can it
exist without
the body and the mind?
Q: It may
exist without
my ever knowing it.
Your very body would not
exist without
the entire universe contributing to its creation and survival.
false_ideas
M: It helps you to understand what you are not and keeps you free from
false ideas
, desires and actions.
Misunderstanding oneself and the world leads to
false ideas
and desires, which again lead to bondage.
False ideas
about this 'I am' lead to bondage, right knowledge leads to freedom and happiness.
Abandon
false ideas
, that is all.
77: 'I' and 'Mine' are
False Ideas
.
When you recognise the 'I' as it is, a bundle of desires and fears, and the sense of 'mine', as embracing all things and people needed for the purpose of avoiding pain and securing pleasure, you will see that the 'I' and the 'mine' are
false ideas
, having no foundation in reality.
Wrong desires and fears,
false ideas
, social inhibitions are blocking and preventing its free interplay with the conscious.
You are the highest self, only give up the
false ideas
you have about your self.
You are it here and now, but your vision is obstructed by your
false ideas
about your self.
false_self
The
false self
must be abandoned before the real self can be found.
When all the
false self
identifications are thrown away, what remains is all-embracing love.
Your burden is of
false self
-identifications -- abandon them all.
But the
false self
wants to continue -- pleasantly.
Now, the question is are there two in us, the personal and the individual, the
false self
and the true self, or is it only a simile?
feel_responsible
They tell him to give attention to the outer self, to guide and help it, to
feel responsible
for it; in short, to be fully aware of it.
Q: Somehow I
feel responsible
for what happens around me.
We are being encouraged to plead guilty, to
feel responsible
for all the evils in the world and point at ourselves as their only cause.
find_yourself
M: You should consider more closely your own world, examine it critically and, suddenly, one day you will
find yourself
in mine.
Find yourself
first, and endless blessings will follow.
There is no need to turn round and round in endless questioning;
find yourself
and everything will fall into its proper place.
The urge to
find yourself
.
Overlook the movable and you will
find yourself
to be the ever-present, changeless reality, inexpressible, but solid like a rock.
Find yourself
and be free.
Abandon all ideas about yourself and you will
find yourself
to be the pure witness, beyond all that can happen to the body or the mind.
But if you disregard all teachings, all books, anything out into words and dive deeply within yourself and
find yourself
, this alone will solve all your problems and leave you in full mastery of every situation, because you will not be dominated by your ideas about the situation.
Therefore
find yourself
, for in finding that you find all.
Cease to be the object and become the subject of all that happens; once having turned within, you will
find yourself
beyond the subject.
Investigate the vicious circle till you
find yourself
beyond it.
When you compare yourself yesterday with yourself today, do you
find yourself
changing, making progress?
Wherever you go you
find yourself
.
five_elements
The multifarious forms around us, says he, are constituted of the
five elements
.
Being the essence of the
five elements
, it, in a way, depends upon the world.
The five senses and the four functions of the mind -- memory, thought, understanding and selfhood; the
five elements
-- earth, water, fire, air and ether; the two aspects of creation -- matter and spirit, all are contained in awareness.
In reality, the three are one: the vyakta and the avyakta are inseparable, while the vyakti is the sensing-feeling-thinking process, based on the body made of and fed by the
five elements
.
fourth_state
Homogeneous -- in the
fourth state
.
Q: Is it what you call the
fourth state
(turiya)?
The
fourth state
(turiya) is a state of pure witnessing, detached awareness, passionless and wordless.
Q: What is turiya, the
fourth state
we hear about?
full_attention
Give it your
full attention
, examine it with loving care and you will discover heights and depths of being which you did not dream of, engrossed as you are in your puny image of yourself.
Be conscious of yourself, watch your mind, give it your
full attention
.
Just give
full attention
to what in you is crude and primitive, unreasonable and unkind, altogether childish, and you will ripen.
Examine them as they occur, give them your
full attention
and you will find that there is nothing like ignorance, only inattention.
full_awareness
They manifest spontaneously and effortlessly, when things are left to themselves, are not interfered with, not shunned, or wanted, or conceptualised, but just experienced in
full awareness
, such awareness itself is sattva.
The world seems to me a big enterprise for bringing the potential into actual, matter into life, the unconscious into
full awareness
.
M: A life lived thoughtfully, in
full awareness
, is by itself Nisarga Yoga.
In
full awareness
the contact is established.
M: By keeping your mind clear and clean, by living your life in
full awareness
of every moment as it happens, by examining and dissolving one's desires and fears as soon as they arise.
fully_aware
M: Be
fully aware
of your own being and you will be in bliss consciously.
Q: I may be
fully aware
of what is going on, and yet quite unable to influence it in any way.
He is happy and
fully aware
that happiness is his very nature and that he need not do anything, nor strive for anything to secure it.
When you follow my advice and try to keep your mind on the notion of 'I am' only, you become
fully aware
of your mind and its vagaries.
They tell him to give attention to the outer self, to guide and help it, to feel responsible for it; in short, to be
fully aware
of it.
M: Of course I am conscious, and
fully aware
of it.
The main point is to be
fully aware
that neither you nor the man in front of you are mere bodies; If your awareness is clear and full.
I am perfectly empty of all mental formations, void of mind -- yet
fully aware
.
I am
fully aware
that things happen as they happen because the world is as it is.
Q: I am
fully aware
that my fear of death is due to apprehension and not knowledge.
Become
fully aware
of your problem, look at it from all sides, watch how it affects your life.
I can see it through your eyes and mind, but I am
fully aware
that it is a projection of memories; it is touched by the real only at the point of awareness, which can be only now.
giving_attention
By
giving attention
to your living, feeling and thinking, you free yourself from them and go beyond them.
If you notice imperfections, just keep on noticing: your very
giving attention
to them will set your heart and mind and body right.
This union of the seer and the seen happens when the seer becomes conscious of himself as the seer, he is not merely interested in the seen, which he is anyhow, but also interested in being interested,
giving attention
to attention, aware of being aware.
M: By meditating which means
giving attention
.
go_deep
Go deep
into the sense of 'I am' and you will find.
When I
go deep
er into it, I find myself to be all I see and the world and myself become one.
My confidence in him made me accept his words as true,
go deep
into them, live them, and that is how I came to realise what I am.
Stay in that love,
go deep
er and deeper into it, investigate yourself and love the investigation and you will solve not only your own problems but also the problems of humanity.
Don't get bored with peace, be in it,
go deep
er into it.
If only they
go deep
ly into the fact of being and discover the vastness and the glory to which the 'I am' is the door, and cross the door and go beyond, their life will be full of happiness and light.
No external activity can reach the inner self; worship and prayers remain on the surface only; to
go deep
er meditation is essential, the striving to go beyond the states of sleep, dream and waking.
Go deep
into the meaning of the words: being, living, conscious, and you will stop running in circles, asking questions, but missing answers.
go_further
Go further
and the unexpected will explode in you and shatter all.
Before you
go further
you must accept, at least as a working theory, that you are not what you appear to be, that you are under the influence of a drug.
One needs all the courage to
go further
.
god_knows
M: You think
God knows
you?
God knows
you when you know yourself.
In chit man knows God and
God knows
man.
good_people
Just like a river carries one to the estuary, so the subtle and silent influence of
good people
will take me to reality.
The
good people
who have read a lot and have a lot to say, may teach you many useful things, but they are not the real Gurus whose words invariably come true.
There are
good people
among your friends -- you can learn much from them.
I need the holy company of a Guru and of
good people
.
great_peace
M: Such bliss is more of the nature of a
great peace
.
Neither your body nor mind can give you what you seek -- the being and knowing your self and the
great peace
that comes with it.
The
great peace
, the deep silence, the hidden beauty of reality remain.
greatest_guru
35:
Greatest Guru
is Your Inner Self.
The
greatest Guru
is helpless as long as the disciple is not eager to learn.
The
greatest Guru
is your inner self.
grievous_mistake
It is a
grievous mistake
to attribute to mental constructs absolute existence.
It would be a
grievous mistake
to identify yourself with something external.
To identify the two is a
grievous mistake
and the cause of endless suffering.
guru_died
M: I shall tell you how my Guru's
Guru died
.
My
Guru died
soon after I met him, but it made no difference.
Soon after my
Guru died
, I lived on.
guru_may
Similarly, the
Guru may
help.
But, however powerful the
Guru may
be, he should not impose his will on the disciple.
A
Guru may
be universal in his essence, but not in his expressions.
guru_told
My
Guru told
me: that child, which is you even now, is your real self (swarupa).
My
Guru told
me -- 'Trust me.
My only reason for doing it was that my
Guru told
me so.
Once the
Guru told
me: 'You are the Supreme Reality', I ceased having visions and trances and became very quiet and simple.
guru_who
Q: How do I find a
Guru who
m I can trust?
He goes out in search of happiness, meets a
Guru who
tells him: 'You are not a person, find who you are'.
M: There is the
Guru who
will come to your rescue.
They came to see their
Guru who
was lecturing in Bombay.
happiness_comes
Happiness comes
from the self and can be found in the self only.
All
happiness comes
from awareness.
All
happiness comes
from pleasing the self.
hatha_yoga
Now I am teaching
Hatha Yoga
in Mexico and in the States.
Q: The joy of well-being is the reward of
Hatha Yoga
.
Others hold that it is an offshoot of the
Hatha Yoga
.
help_others
M: To
help others
, one must be beyond the need of help.
Q: Surely truth gives you the power to
help others
.
In truth you do not
help others
, because there are no others.
helping_others
Q: I am not talking of pleasing, but I am all for
helping others
.
First be free of suffering yourself and then only hope of
helping others
.
Your own desires and fears prevent you from understanding and thereby
helping others
.
They are just unable to desire anything for themselves, not even the joy of
helping others
knowing that God is good they are at peace.
helping_people
Devotion to you goal makes you live a clean and orderly life, given to search for truth and to
helping people
, and realisation makes noble virtue easy and spontaneous, by removing for good the obstacles in the shape of desires and fears and wrong ideas.
M: All my working life I was a cigarette-maker,
helping people
to spoil their health.
The saints and Yogis, by immense efforts and sacrifices, acquire many miraculous powers and can do much good in the way of
helping people
and inspiring faith, yet it does not make them perfect.
higher_level
Is it not the purpose of meditation to dam up the energies on the
higher level
s, or to push them back and up, so as to enable the
higher level
s to prosper also?
The persons who, after much effort and penance, have fulfilled their ambitions and secured
higher level
s of experience and action, are usually acutely conscious of their standing; they grade people into hierarchies, ranging from the lowest non-achiever to the highest achiever.
M: What is unexpected on one level may be certain to happen, when seen from a
higher level
After all, we are within the limits of the mind.
They will sober up and ripen and shift to a
higher level
of relationship.
People told us to take drugs in order to break through into
higher level
s of consciousness.
It had to learn the laws and ways of Nature working hand-in-hand can raise life to a
higher level
.
higher_levels
Is it not the purpose of meditation to dam up the energies on the
higher levels
, or to push them back and up, so as to enable the
higher levels
to prosper also?
The persons who, after much effort and penance, have fulfilled their ambitions and secured
higher levels
of experience and action, are usually acutely conscious of their standing; they grade people into hierarchies, ranging from the lowest non-achiever to the highest achiever.
People told us to take drugs in order to break through into
higher levels
of consciousness.
higher_self
Q: There are teachers who will not talk of the
higher self
and lower self.
Neither Buddha nor Christ ever mentioned a
higher self
.
J. Krishnamurti too fights shy of any mention of the
higher self
.
The inner or
higher self
is but an idea conceived to explain and encourage.
There is no second, or
higher self
to search for.
holy_company
Is this speeding up due to
holy company
?
Questioner: I was lucky to have
holy company
all my life.
M: Abiding in your own being is also
holy company
.
I need the
holy company
of a Guru and of good people.
holy_man
And yet in India every
holy man
has his tiger, lion, leopard or antelope skin to sit on.
Q: Will it not help me if I go and stay with some great and
holy man
?
You may come across a great and
holy man
or women and not even know for a long time your good fortune.
human_being
It is hoped that the present translation of the tape-recordings will not reduce the impact of this clear- minded, generous and in many ways an unusual
human being
.
When a jnani joins the universal mind, all his goodness and wisdom become the heritage of humanity and uplift every
human being
.
Does he not take himself to be an ordinary
human being
?
Q: Is perfection the destiny of all
human being
s?
You are not even a
human being
.
M:
Human being
s die every second, the fear and the agony of dying hangs over the world like a cloud.
As a
human being
-- definitely no.
identify_yourself
M: It is only because you
identify yourself
with them.
M: Your mind projects a structure and you
identify yourself
with it.
It would be a grievous mistake to
identify yourself
with something external.
Don't
identify yourself
with the world and you will not suffer.
The mind is like a river, flowing ceaselessly in the bed of the body; you
identify yourself
for a moment with some particular ripple and call it: 'my thought'.
Again you
identify yourself
with your mind, in this case a well-behaved and in every way an exemplary mind.
M: Don't
identify yourself
with an idea.
You
identify yourself
with everything so easily, I find it impossible.
Without this realisation you
identify yourself
with the externals, like the body, mind, society, nation, humanity, even God or the Absolute.
Do not
identify yourself
with time, do not ask anxiously: 'what next, what next?
M: You
identify yourself
with your desires and become their slave.
As long as you
identify yourself
with them you are bound to suffer; realise your independence and remain happy.
When you desire and fear, and
identify yourself
with your feelings, you create sorrow and bondage.
imagine_yourself
If you
imagine yourself
as separate from the world, the world will appear as separate from you and you will experience desire and fear.
Of course, as long as you
imagine yourself
to be in control, you should also
imagine yourself
to be responsible.
The essence of slavery is to
imagine yourself
to be a process, to have past and future, to have history.
M: Your being a person is due to the illusion of space and time; you
imagine yourself
to be at a certain point occupying a certain volume; your personality is due to your self-identification with the body.
Your thoughts and feelings exist in succession, they have their span in time and make you
imagine yourself
, because of memory, as having duration.
M: It is enough if you do not
imagine yourself
to be the body.
You
imagine yourself
to be what you are not -- stop it.
Just see the person you
imagine yourself
to be as a part of the world you perceive within your mind and look at the mind from the outside, for you are not the mind.
As long as you
imagine yourself
to be something tangible and solid, a thing among things, actually existing in time and space, short-lived and vulnerable, naturally you will be anxious to survive and increase.
Because you
imagine yourself
to be a person you take the jnani to be a person too, only somewhat different, better informed and more powerful.
It is the person you
imagine yourself
to be that suffers, not you.
M: You are a creature of memories; at least you
imagine yourself
to be so.
imagining_yourself
Stop
imagining yourself
being or doing this or that and the realisation that you are the source and heart of all will dawn upon you.
By forgetting who you are and
imagining yourself
a mortal creature, you created so much trouble for yourself that you have to wake up, like from a bad dream.
By
imagining yourself
as separate you have created the gap.
Only cease
imagining yourself
to be the particular.
What happens to the body and the mind may not be within your power to change, but you can always put an end to your
imagining yourself
to be body and mind.
To be yourself, stop
imagining yourself
to be this or that.
Whatever you think you are you take it to be true; the habit of
imagining yourself
perceivable and describable is very strong with you.
M: I see you
imagining yourself
to be.
imparts_reality
It is the experiencer that
imparts reality
to experience.
It is the very source of reality, it
imparts reality
to whatever it touches.
The Supreme (paramakash)
imparts reality
to whatever comes into being.
M: That which does not depend for its existence, which does not arise with the universe arising, nor set with the universe setting, which does not need any proof, but
imparts reality
to all it touches.
There is a centre that
imparts reality
to whatever it perceives.
incense_stick
It disappears when the body dies, like the spark extinguishes when the
incense stick
burns out.
As it is natural for the
incense stick
to burn out, so it is natural for the body to die.
It is like looking at a burning
incense stick
, you see the stick and the smoke first; when you notice the fiery point, you realise that it has the power to consume mountains of sticks and fill the universe with smoke.
In the
incense stick
simile the stick is the body and the smoke is the mind.
independent_existence
To go beyond, we must pass through total negation of everything as having
independent existence
.
A reflection of the watcher in the mind creates the sense of 'I' and the person acquires an apparently
independent existence
.
We talk of it as having
independent existence
.
inner_contradictions
M: For this it must be free of
inner contradictions
, which is not the case.
While it is self contained and free from
inner contradictions
, how can we know that it is not a product of fertile imagination, nurtured and enriched by constant repetition?
It seems to me, that no philosophy or religion, no doctrine or ideology, however complete, free from
inner contradictions
and emotionally appealing, can be the proof of its own truth.
inner_guru
M: It is the
Inner Guru
(sadguru) who takes you to the Outer Guru, as a mother takes her child to a teacher.
Even when there is no discoverable outer Guru, there is always the sadguru, the
inner Guru
, who directs and helps from within.
Q: I am not concerned with the
inner Guru
.
The
inner Guru
bids his chance.
The
inner Guru
is not committed to non-violence.
But here you bring in the sadguru, the
inner Guru
, beginningless, changeless, the root of being, the standing promise, the certain goal.
Q: Does the
inner Guru
also teach?
Q: When a truth-seeker earnestly practices his Yogas, does his
inner Guru
guide and help him or does he leave him to his own resources, just waiting for the outcome?
inner_peace
Q: I did attain a degree of
inner peace
.
Also you must have moments of complete
inner peace
and quiet, when your mind is absolutely still.
Your
inner peace
and joy you have to earn.
Why is my
inner peace
not steady, I cannot understand.
Above all you need
inner peace
-- which demands harmony between the inner and the outer.
inner_self
Revising and editing of I AM THAT has been for me a pilgrimage to my
inner self
-- at once ennobling and enlightening.
Q: I do believe you, but when it comes to the actual finding of this
inner self
, I find it escapes me.
Remember that Yoga is the work of the
inner self
(vyakta) on the outer self (vyakti).
All positives belong to the
inner self
, as all absolutes -- to Reality.
35: Greatest Guru is Your
Inner Self
.
The greatest Guru is your
inner self
.
How does his
inner self
look at his own senility.
It is because you are indolent or restless, that your
inner Self
manifests as the outer Guru and makes you trust him and obey.
The
inner Self
is watching and waiting for the son to return to his father.
You speak of the
inner self
as wise and good and beautiful and in every way perfect, and of the person as mere reflection without a being of its own.
Before I was born, did my
inner self
decide the details of my life, or was it entirely accidental and at the mercy of heredity and circumstances?
As long as the observer, the
inner self
, the 'higher' self, considers himself apart from the observed, the 'lower' self, despises it and condemns it, the situation is hopeless.
The outer self (vyakti) is merely a projection on the body-mind of the
inner self
(vyakta), which again is only an expression of the Supreme Self (avyakta) which is all and none.
They know well that the vyakti, the outer self, is but a shadow of the vyakta, the
inner self
, and they address and admonish the vyakta only.
Awareness comes from the Supreme and pervades the
inner self
; the so-called outer self is only that part of one's being of which one is not aware.
Be at peace with your
inner self
and you will be at peace with everybody.
Q: I have not understood well the role of the
inner self
in spiritual endeavour.
No external activity can reach the
inner self
; worship and prayers remain on the surface only; to go deeper meditation is essential, the striving to go beyond the states of sleep, dream and waking.
inner_teacher
It is only your
inner teacher
, that will walk with you to the goal, for he is the goal.
Q: The
inner teacher
is not easily reached.
M: That which sees all this, and the nothing too, is the
inner teacher
.
inner_urge
When right behaviour (uparati), becomes normal, a powerful
inner urge
(mukmukshutva) makes it seek its source.
His is an inner path, he is moved by an
inner urge
and guided by an inner light.
Sometimes he externalises himself and comes to you as an uplifting and reforming factor in your life, a mother, a wife, a teacher; or he remains as an
inner urge
toward righteousness and perfection.
jnana_yoga
Maharaj's interpretation of truth is not different from that of
Jnana Yoga
/Advaita Vedanta.
Q: Yes, some English people were teaching me and also an Indian follower of
jnana yoga
, residing there permanently, was giving me lessons.
Q: Shall I call the way of control and discipline raja yoga and the way of detachment --
jnana yoga
?
jnani_knows
Q: So a
jnani knows
what he is doing only when he turns his mind to it; otherwise he just acts, without being concerned.
True waking and true sleeping only the
jnani knows
.
The
jnani knows
neither birth nor death; existence and non-existence are the same to him.
The
jnani knows
himself as he is.
keep_quiet
The mind will rebel in the beginning, but with patience and perseverance it will yield and
keep quiet
.
All you need is to
keep quiet
ly alert, enquiring into the real nature of yourself.
M: If you could only
keep quiet
, clear of memories and expectations, you would be able to discern the beautiful pattern of events.
Just like a doctor, after giving the patient an injection, tells him: 'Now,
keep quiet
.
Do nothing more, just
keep quiet
,' I am telling you: you have got your 'injection', now
keep quiet
, just
keep quiet
.
He would tell me something and then said: 'Now
keep quiet
.
Q: I can
keep quiet
for an hour in the morning.
M: If you just try to
keep quiet
, all will come -- the work, the strength for work, the right motive.
There was not much of thinking or study; we were just trying to
keep quiet
.
If you say: 'nothing worries me, I have no problems', it is all right with me, we can
keep quiet
.
M:
Keep quiet
.
Do your work in the world, but inwardly
keep quiet
.
Q: We, Europeans, find it very difficult to
keep quiet
.
M:
Keep quiet
, undisturbed, and the wisdom and the power will come on their own.
Even if you are quite ignorant of the ways and the means,
keep quiet
and look within; guidance is sure to come.
Keep quiet
, keep silent; it will emerge, or, rather, it will take you in.
know_everything
M: I see only consciousness, and
know everything
to be but consciousness, as you know the picture on the cinema screen to be but light.
Must you
know everything
beforehand?
You
know everything
, but you do not know yourself.
know_god
M: Do you
know God
that you talk of him so freely?
If you
know God
as you know your self, you need not say it.
Q: Yes, to
know God
I must accept God -- how frightening!
know_nothing
M: I
know nothing
about it all and see no difference between you and me.
M: I
know nothing
about miracles, and I wonder whether nature admits exceptions to her laws, unless we agree that everything is a miracle.
You know all about the world, but about yourself you
know nothing
.
M: Those who know only scriptures
know nothing
.
Of being before birth and after death I
know nothing
.
To them reality is objective, outside the observable and describable, directly or by inference; about the subjective aspect of reality they
know nothing
.
Now I
know nothing
, for all knowledge is in dream only and not valid.
M: The scriptures say so, but I
know nothing
about it.
Q: I
know nothing
about being the cause of the universe.
You will find you
know nothing
for sure -- you trust on hearsay.
I found myself desiring and knowing less and less, until I could say in utter astonishment: 'I
know nothing
, I want nothing.
I
know nothing
about it.
Q: I
know nothing
of it.
M: Be nothing,
know nothing
, have nothing.
know_oneself
To know things, to know people and to
know oneself
are all functions of intelligence: the last is the most important and contains the former two.
Q: It takes time to
know oneself
.
Q: By meeting people and watching them, one comes to
know oneself
also.
What needs changing shall change anyhow; enough to
know oneself
as one is, here and now.
know_yourself
To go beyond yourself, you must
know yourself
.
First thing first --
know yourself
, all else will come with it.
Do you ever
know yourself
non-existing, or unconscious?
M: What helps you to
know yourself
is right.
Q: Unless you
know yourself
, of what use is your being to you?
Do you
know yourself
?
To control yourself --
know yourself
.
You came here because you are in pain, and all I say is: wake up,
know yourself
, be yourself.
M: If you
know yourself
to be stupid, you are not stupid at all!
M: Do you
know yourself
enough to know what you can do and what you cannot?
God knows you when you
know yourself
.
You think you
know yourself
when you know what you are.
You are yourself, you
know yourself
, you love yourself.
Know yourself
as the ocean of being, the womb of all existence.
As to method, there is only one -- you must come to
know yourself
-- both what you appear to be and what you are.
Unless you admit the reality of chit, you will never
know yourself
.
Abandon all imaginings and
know yourself
as you are.
To
know yourself
, be yourself.
You
know yourself
only through the senses and the mind.
You are not interested in tables, you want to
know yourself
.
Unless you
know yourself
, what else can you know?
You cannot
know yourself
through bliss alone, for bliss is your very nature.
Calm and clarify your mind and you will
know yourself
as you are.
I do not even say: 'be yourself', since you do not
know yourself
.
Know yourself
as the total.
As you
know yourself
to be a man by being one.
M: There is nothing in the world that you cannot know, when you
know yourself
.
When you
know yourself
as a centre of consciousness, the world appears as the ocean of the mind.
When you
know yourself
as you are in reality, you know the world as yourself.
Learn to
know yourself
and you will discover wonders.
Unless you
know yourself
well, how can you know another?
And when you
know yourself
-- you are the other.
Know yourself
as you are -- a mere point in consciousness, dimensionless and timeless.
What is, can cease to be; what is not, can come to be; but what neither is nor is not, but on which being and non-being depend, is unassailable;
know yourself
to be the cause of desire and fear, itself free from both.
The more you
know yourself
the less you are afraid.
A long as you are engrossed in the world, you are unable to
know yourself
: to
know yourself
, turn away your attention from the world and turn it within.
Only when you
know yourself
as entirely alien to and different from the body, will you find respite from the mixture of fear and craving inseparable from the 'I-am-the-body' idea.
But when you
know yourself
as beyond space and time -- in contact with them only at the point of here and now, otherwise all-pervading and all-containing, unapproachable, unassailable, invulnerable -- you will be afraid no longer.
Know yourself
as you are -- against fear there is no other remedy.
Know yourself
as independent and you will be free from fear and its shadows.
Once you
know yourself
, it is immaterial what you do, but to realise your independence, you must test it by letting go all you were dependent on.
Know yourself
correctly.
Know yourself
to be the changeless witness of the changeful mind.
As long as you have all sorts of ideas about yourself, you
know yourself
through the mist of these ideas; to
know yourself
as you are, give up all ideas.
You know everything, but you do not
know yourself
.
Once you
know yourself
as pure being, the ecstasy of freedom is your own.
Know yourself
correctly.
knowing_yourself
You got into it by forgetting what you are and you will get out of it by
knowing yourself
as you are.
M:
Knowing yourself
as the dweller in both the bodies you will disown nothing.
What prevents you from
knowing yourself
as all and beyond all, is the mind based on memory.
lack_nothing
My silence sings, my emptiness is full, I
lack nothing
.
Keep in mind what I tell you: desire nothing, for you
lack nothing
.
When you know that you
lack nothing
, that all there is, is you and yours, desire ceases.
liberated_man
Questioner: I have met many realised people, but never a
liberated man
.
Have you come across a
liberated man
, or does liberation mean, among other things, also abandoning the body?
Why should a
liberated man
necessarily follow conventions?
Of all the people the knower of the self, the
liberated man
, is the most trust-worthy.
A
liberated man
is extremely law- abiding.
The very notion of a
liberated man
, a realised man, a self-knower, a God-knower, a man beyond the world, is unknown to them.
Q: But would he recognise you as a
liberated man
?
life_becomes
You agree to be guided from within and
life becomes
a journey into the unknown.
Then
life becomes
what it was meant to be: pure radiation from an inexhaustible source.
Once you have passed through this experience, you will never be the same man again; the unruly mind may break its peace and obliterate its vision; but it is bound to return, provided the effort is sustained; until the day when all bonds are broken, delusions and attachments end and
life becomes
supremely concentrated in the present.
But once it is fulfilled, the concern ceases and physical
life becomes
effortless and below the level of attention.
life_flows
Between the banks of pain and pleasure the river of
life flows
.
When you know beyond all doubting that the same
life flows
through all that is and you are that life, you will love all naturally and spontaneously.
Wisdom says: 'I am nothing' Between the two my
life flows
.
Life flows
naturally and effortlessly and the mind removes the obstacles to its even flow.
life_without
Q: Can there be
life without
consciousness?
Live your
life without
hurting anybody.
I cannot imagine
life without
a Guru.
There can be no
life without
sacrifice.
And is
life without
mind at all possible on the human level?
limitless_being
That in whom reside all beings and who resides in all beings, who is the giver of grace to all, the Supreme Soul of the universe, the
limitless being
- I am that.
The clearer you understand on the level of mind you can be described in negative terms only, the quicker will you come to the end of your search and realise that you are the
limitless being
.
The clearer you understand that on the level of the mind you can be described in negative terms only, the quicker you will come to the end of your search and realise your
limitless being
.
little_importance
The event itself is of
little importance
, but he is full of compassion for the suffering being, whether alive or dead, in the body or out of it.
Really, it is a matter of very
little importance
.
He admits that while he is aware of it, others are not yet, but this difference is temporary and of
little importance
, except to the mind and its ever-changing content.
live_without
M: To
live without
self-concern.
Q: How can one
live without
emotions?
M: You cannot
live without
action, and behind each action there is some fear or desire.
living_being
All has its being in me, in the 'I am', that shines in every
living being
.
Q: Buddha too has said that for the attainment of nirvana one must go to
living being
s.
I like it, because it puts me in touch with
living being
s.
As a
living being
you are caught in an untenable and painful situation and you are seeking a way out.
To be a
living being
is not the ultimate state; there is something beyond, much more wonderful, which is neither being nor non- being, neither living nor notliving.
When you realise the depth and fullness of your love of yourself, you know that every
living being
and the entire universe are included in your affection.
M: Of all
living being
s -- ultimately.
Once a
living being
has heard and understood that deliverance is within his reach, he will never forget, for it is the first message from within.
Who is the conscious
living being
?
M: Your question contains the answer: a conscious
living being
is a conscious
living being
.
But the world is full of
living being
s whose lives are squeezed between fear and craving.
I see no saints nor sinners, only
living being
s.
Relinquish your habits and addictions, live a simple and sober life, don't hurt a
living being
; this is the foundation of Yoga.
No other
living being
so delights in killing.
living_beings
Q: Buddha too has said that for the attainment of nirvana one must go to
living beings
.
I like it, because it puts me in touch with
living beings
.
M: Of all
living beings
-- ultimately.
But the world is full of
living beings
whose lives are squeezed between fear and craving.
I see no saints nor sinners, only
living beings
.
look_after
When, through my faith in my teacher and obedience to his words, I realised my true being, I left behind my human nature to
look after
itself, until its destiny is exhausted.
M: Go home, take charge of your father's business,
look after
your parents in their old age.
Let consciousness
look after
its creations!
As long as I believe: 'I am the body', I must not say: 'God will
look after
my body'.
That part of me which you may call God will
look after
the world.
Q: To live, one must
look after
oneself, one must earn money for oneself.
The rest can
look after
itself, without your knowing how it does it.
Q: God has created me, he will
look after
me.
Q: Well, God will
look after
me.
Better accept your life as it shapes, go home and
look after
your wife with love and care.
You need not worry about action,
look after
your mind and heart.
look_within
Look within
, and you will find him.
Q: When I
look within
, I find sensations and perceptions, thoughts and feelings, desires and fears, memories and expectations.
Look within
and see.
When you have a moment free,
look within
.
Look within
and you will find that the point of light is the reflection of the immensity of light in the body, as the sense 'I am'.
Look within
.
Even if you are quite ignorant of the ways and the means, keep quiet and
look within
; guidance is sure to come.
Look within
, search within.
Look within
diligently, remember to remember that the perceived cannot be the perceiver.
love_yourself
Because you
love yourself
.
You are yourself, you know yourself, you
love yourself
.
Because you
love yourself
.
By all means
love yourself
-- wisely.
What is wrong is to
love yourself
stupidly, so as to make yourself suffer.
Love yourself
wisely.
Be interested in yourself beyond all experience, be with yourself,
love yourself
; the ultimate security is found only in self-knowledge.
It is in your own interest that l speak, because above all you
love yourself
, you want yourself secure and happy.
making_happy
52: Being Happy,
Making Happy
is the Rhythm of Life.
Being happy --
making happy
-- this is the rhythm of love.
man_becomes
Man becomes
what he believes himself to be.
But even on his play
man becomes
destructive of nature, others and himself.
Q: My question is more specific; when a blind
man becomes
a jnani will his eyesight be restored to him or not?
matters_supremely
The motive
matters supremely
.
M: The motive
matters supremely
.
What
matters supremely
is sincerity, earnestness; you must really have had surfeit of being the person you are, now see the urgent need of being free of this unnecessary self-identification with a bundle of memories and habits.
memory_remains
M: A vague
memory remains
, like the memory of a dream, or early childhood.
But when the cause ceases, the effect dissolves and only a
memory remains
, haunting but fading.
One after another all things happen to you and the
memory remains
.
mental_habits
The mind is but a set of
mental habits
, of ways of thinking and feeling, and to change they must be brought to the surface and examined.
A bundle of memories and
mental habits
attracts attention, awareness gets focalised and a person suddenly appears.
If you talk from full insight into the situation, with your own
mental habits
in abeyance your advice may be a true response.
M: For some time the
mental habits
may linger in spite of the new vision, the habit of longing for the known past and fearing the unknown future.
mental_life
Don't you see that memory is the warp of your
mental life
.
To focus suffering is not enough, for
mental life
, as we know it, is one continuous stream of suffering.
Our
mental life
is one continuous stream of words.
mental_picture
I do not need them and have no desire to lock up the world in a
mental picture
.
Even to talk of re-uniting the person with the self is not right, because there is no person, only a
mental picture
given a false reality by conviction.
I can have only a
mental picture
of it.
mental_process
In ending the
mental process
as we know it.
You can only kill the body, you cannot stop the
mental process
, nor can you put an end to the person you think you are.
As long as the body lasts, it has its needs like any other, but my
mental process
has come to an end.
mental_space
From the mind's point of view, it is but an opening for the light of awareness to enter the
mental space
.
Q: Is there any connection between the
mental space
and the supreme abode?
Chidakash is the expanse of awareness, the
mental space
of time, perception and cognition.
mental_state
Having gone beyond the I-am-the-body idea, he had acquired a
mental state
so joyful, peaceful and glorious that everything appeared to be worthless compared to it.
The stream of
mental state
s is endless, meaningless and painful.
In each state you forget the other two, while to me, there is but one state of being, including and transcending the three
mental state
s of waking, dreaming and sleeping.
When through the practice of discrimination and detachment (viveka-vairagya), you lose sight of sensory and
mental state
s, pure being emerges as the natural state.
Mental state
s succeed one another, and each obliterates the previous one.
Self-remembering is a
mental state
and self-forgetting is another.
Conviction is a
mental state
.
M: You are neither honest nor dishonest -- giving names to
mental state
s is good only for expressing your approval or disapproval.
But even this is a
mental state
and does not last.
All exists in the mind, even the body is an integration in the mind of a vast number of sensory perceptions, each perception also a
mental state
.
Past and future, memory and imagination, these are
mental state
s, but they are all I know and they are now.
You are contacting your sensory and
mental state
s in consciousness, at the point of 'I am', while reality is not mediated, not contacted, not experienced.
M: It is a
mental state
caused by the 'I-am-the-body' idea.
In memory and anticipation there is a clear feeling that it is a
mental state
under observation, while in the actual the feeling is primarily of being present and aware.
I am what I am, not identifiable with any physical or
mental state
.
mental_states
The stream of
mental states
is endless, meaningless and painful.
In each state you forget the other two, while to me, there is but one state of being, including and transcending the three
mental states
of waking, dreaming and sleeping.
When through the practice of discrimination and detachment (viveka-vairagya), you lose sight of sensory and
mental states
, pure being emerges as the natural state.
Mental states
succeed one another, and each obliterates the previous one.
M: You are neither honest nor dishonest -- giving names to
mental states
is good only for expressing your approval or disapproval.
Past and future, memory and imagination, these are
mental states
, but they are all I know and they are now.
You are contacting your sensory and
mental states
in consciousness, at the point of 'I am', while reality is not mediated, not contacted, not experienced.
mere_concept
What you call the real self is a
mere concept
, a way of speaking, a creature of the mind, an attractive ghost.
Q: God may be a
mere concept
, a working theory.
M: It is the other way round; the deed is a fact, the doer a
mere concept
.
After all, even universality and eternity are
mere concept
s, the opposites of being place and time- bound.
mere_knowledge
Mere knowledge
.
Mere knowledge
is not enough; the knower must be known.
The Pandits and the Yogis may know many things, but of what use is
mere knowledge
when the self is not known?
mighty_tree
Like a seed left in the ground, it will wait for the right season and sprout and grow into a
mighty tree
.
It may look very small and insignificant, but it is like a seed that grows into a
mighty tree
.
'I am' is a tiny seed which will grow into a
mighty tree
-- quite naturally, without a trace of effort.
mind_becomes
When thus the
mind becomes
completely silent, it shines with a new light and vibrates with new knowledge.
Divested of this idea the
mind becomes
steady.
And since time is in the mind, the
mind becomes
the arbiter and searches within itself for the proof of truth -- a task altogether impossible and hopeless!
', until your
mind becomes
the question itself and cannot think of anything else.
Q: One has such moments when the
mind becomes
a flower and a flame, but they do not last and the life reverts to its daily greyness.
mind_clear
Were your
mind clear
and your heart clean, you would learn from every passer-by;.
Q: You had to make your
mind clear
and quiet before you could realise the truth.
M: By keeping your
mind clear
and clean, by living your life in full awareness of every moment as it happens, by examining and dissolving one's desires and fears as soon as they arise.
mind_craves
The
mind craves
for experience, the memory of which it takes for knowledge.
But the
mind craves
for formulations and definitions, always eager to squeeze reality into a verbal shape.
For the
mind craves
for content and variety, while reality is, to the mind, contentless and invariable.
mind_creates
Mind creates
the abyss, the heart crosses it.
M: There is no chaos in the world, except the chaos which your
mind creates
.
The
mind creates
the world and all the wonderful variety of it.
The
mind creates
time and space and takes its own creations for reality.
A reflection of the watcher in the
mind creates
the sense of 'I' and the person acquires an apparently independent existence.
mind_remains
Q: I may go on telling myself: 'I am not the mind, I am not concerned with its problems,' but the
mind remains
and its problems remain just as they were.
When all is done, the
mind remains
quiet.
It may or may not imply intense outward activity, but the
mind remains
deep and quiet.
mind_restless
Both make the
mind restless
.
M: Detach yourself from all that makes your
mind restless
.
It is desires and fears that make the
mind restless
.
miraculous_powers
The saints and Yogis, by immense efforts and sacrifices, acquire many
miraculous powers
and can do much good in the way of helping people and inspiring faith, yet it does not make them perfect.
Once you know your mind and its
miraculous powers
, and remove what poisoned it -- the idea of a separate and isolated person -- you just leave it alone to do its work among things to which it is well suited.
There is a Yogi living not far from Bombay who possesses some
miraculous powers
.
must_realise
We
must realise
how poor and powerless we are.
Maharaj: You
must realise
first of all that you are the proof of everything, including yourself.
You
must realise
yourself as the immovable, behind and beyond the movable, the silent witness of all that happens.
must_remember
To forget I
must remember
What did I forget to remember?
After all, you
must remember
, that all your preoccupations with yourself are only in your waking hours and partly in your dreams; in sleep all is put aside and forgotten.
M: We
must remember
that words are used in many ways, according to the context.
mysterious_power
There is a
mysterious power
that looks after them.
Q: I imagine karma to be a
mysterious power
that urges me towards perfection.
All happens as if there is a
mysterious power
that creates and moves everything.
Your natural state, in which nothing exists, cannot be a cause of becoming; the causes are hidden in the great and
mysterious power
of memory.
nath_sampradaya
Among his friends during this period was one Yashwantrao Baagkar, who was a devotee of Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, a spiritual teacher of the Nav
nath Sampradaya
, a sect of Hinduism.
M: The Nav
nath Sampradaya
is only a tradition, a way of teaching and practice.
If you accept a Nav
nath Sampradaya
teacher as your Guru, you join his Sampradaya.
The
Nath Sampradaya
, later known as the Navnath Sampradaya, is one of them.
Whatever be its origin, the teachings of the
Nath Sampradaya
have, over the centuries, become labyrinthine in complexity and have assumed different forms in different parts of India.
The
Nath Sampradaya
came to be known as Navnath Sampradaya when sometime in the remote past, the followers of the sect chose nine of their early Gurus as examplars of their creed.
It may be mentioned here that, though officially the current Guru of the Inchegeri branch of the Nav
nath Sampradaya
, Sri Nisargadatta does not seem to attach much importance to sects, cults and creeds, including his own.
In answer to a questioner whi wished to join the Nav
nath Sampradaya
he said: "The Nav
nath Sampradaya
is only a tradition, a way of teaching and practice.
If you accept a Nav
nath Sampradaya
teacher as your Guru, you join his Sampradaya...
natural_state
Once this obsession with the body goes, you will revert to your
natural state
, spontaneously and effortlessly.
The only difference between us is that I am aware of my
natural state
, while you are bemused.
It is the only
natural state
.
By knowing what you are not, you are free of it and remain in your own
natural state
.
When through the practice of discrimination and detachment (viveka-vairagya), you lose sight of sensory and mental states, pure being emerges as the
natural state
.
There is a state beyond forgetting and not- forgetting -- the
natural state
.
The very freedom from all motivation, the state in which no desire arises is the
natural state
.
No particular thought can be mind's
natural state
, only silence.
When the mind is in its
natural state
, it reverts to silence spontaneously after every experience or, rather, every experience happens against the background of silence.
'I am that' in the
Natural State
.
You need to return to the state in which I am -- your
natural state
.
You will recognise that you have returned to your
natural state
by a complete absence of all desire and fear.
Q: Yes, but what is the sadhana for achieving the
natural state
?
When no desires remain, you revert to your
natural state
.
Turn away from your desires and fears and from the thoughts they create and you are at once in your
natural state
.
Then your normal
natural state
reappears, in which you are neither the body nor the mind, neither the 'me' nor the 'mine', but in a different state of being altogether.
Get rid of it and come back to your
natural state
.
Your
natural state
, in which nothing exists, cannot be a cause of becoming; the causes are hidden in the great and mysterious power of memory.
natural_yoga
Q: The Yoga of living, of life itself, we may call the
Natural Yoga
(nisarga yoga).
This is what I call nisarga yoga, the
Natural yoga
.
This dwelling on the sense 'I am' is the simple, easy and
natural Yoga
, the Nisarga Yoga.
nature_cure
But before I left for Rishikesh, I did some fasting and dieting at a
Nature Cure
Sanatorium at Pudukkotai in South India.
I intend to complete my B.Sc., study
Nature Cure
and make it my profession.
You can always return to India for your
Nature Cure
studies.
navnath_sampradaya
Among his friends during this period was one Yashwantrao Baagkar, who was a devotee of Sri Siddharameshwar Maharaj, a spiritual teacher of the
Navnath Sampradaya
, a sect of Hinduism.
M: The
Navnath Sampradaya
is only a tradition, a way of teaching and practice.
If you accept a
Navnath Sampradaya
teacher as your Guru, you join his Sampradaya.
The Nath Sampradaya, later known as the
Navnath Sampradaya
, is one of them.
The Nath Sampradaya came to be known as
Navnath Sampradaya
when sometime in the remote past, the followers of the sect chose nine of their early Gurus as examplars of their creed.
It may be mentioned here that, though officially the current Guru of the Inchegeri branch of the
Navnath Sampradaya
, Sri Nisargadatta does not seem to attach much importance to sects, cults and creeds, including his own.
In answer to a questioner whi wished to join the
Navnath Sampradaya
he said: "The
Navnath Sampradaya
is only a tradition, a way of teaching and practice.
If you accept a
Navnath Sampradaya
teacher as your Guru, you join his Sampradaya...
need_courage
Need courage
be given?
You
need courage
to let go.
You
need courage
for adventure.
need_nothing
I
need nothing
, not even myself, for myself I cannot lose.
I am simple being and I
need nothing
to rest on.
For yourself you
need nothing
.
You
need nothing
more, just remember that you are the witness only.
To deal with yourself you
need nothing
.
Believe me, you
need nothing
except to be what you are.
You have to give up everything to know that you
need nothing
, not even your body.
He knows you
need nothing
, not even him, and is never tired of reminding you.
To believe that you depend on things and people for happiness is due to ignorance of your true nature; to know that you
need nothing
to be happy, except self-knowledge, is wisdom.
negative_emotions
M: The main thing is to be free of
negative emotions
-- desire, fear etc., the 'six enemies' of the mind.
Free from all
negative emotions
it is quiet.
Q: You cannot protect the child from
negative emotions
.
negative_terms
The clearer you understand on the level of mind you can be described in
negative terms
only, the quicker will you come to the end of your search and realise that you are the limitless being.
The clearer you understand that on the level of the mind you can be described in
negative terms
only, the quicker you will come to the end of your search and realise your limitless being.
From Buddha onwards the state of self-realisation was described in
negative terms
, as 'not this, not that'.
You can put it only in
negative terms
: 'Nothing is wrong with me any longer.
Definitions and descriptions have their place as useful incentives for further search, but you must go beyond them into what is undefinable and indescribable, except in
negative terms
.
never_born
When asked about the date of his birth the Master replied blandly that he was
never born
!
You were
never born
nor will you ever die, but you believe that you were born at a certain date and place and that a particular body is your own.
I was
never born
.
M: The jnani does not die because he was
never born
.
What was born, must die; what was
never born
cannot die.
I was
never born
.
When I am telling you that I was
never born
, why go on asking me what were my preparations for the next birth?
You were
never born
, nor will you ever die.
M: In reality you were
never born
and never shall die.
Questioner: You keep on saying that I was
never born
and will never die.
never_lost
You leave behind what is not your own and find what you have
never lost
-- your own being.
Find what you have
never lost
, find the inalienable.
Q: Had I
never lost
anything, I would have been enlightened.
Only when you realise the true peace, the peace you have
never lost
, that peace will remain with you, for it was never away.
Instead of searching for what you do not have, find out what is it that you have
never lost
?
M: What was
never lost
can never be found.
It is your complete ignorance of yourself, that covered up your love and happiness and made you seek for what you had
never lost
.
Once you have found it in yourself, you know that you had
never lost
that independent being, independent of all divisions and separations.
This must be clearly established in your mind and
never lost
sight of.
new_dimension
Of course, they did a lot and opened
new dimension
s in the human mind.
The very idea of a
new dimension
in consciousness seems to them implausible and improbable.
It is a
new dimension
altogether, where there is nothing to give or take.
It is the very essence of Yoga -- ever raising the level of consciousness, discovery of
new dimension
s, with their properties, qualities and powers.
You rotate into a
new dimension
, seen from which the previous ones are mere abstractions.
What you are you will never know, for every discovery reveals
new dimension
s to conquer.
realisation by itself is not an experience, though it may lead to a
new dimension
of experiences.
new_dimensions
Of course, they did a lot and opened
new dimensions
in the human mind.
It is the very essence of Yoga -- ever raising the level of consciousness, discovery of
new dimensions
, with their properties, qualities and powers.
What you are you will never know, for every discovery reveals
new dimensions
to conquer.
new_factor
Q: What is the
new factor
you want me to bring in?
Q: But your help will be a
new factor
?
To affect the course of events I must bring a
new factor
into the world and such factor can only be myself, the power of love and understanding focussed in me.
new_life
By its very nature the mind is outward turned; it always tends to seek for the source of things among the things themselves; to be told to look for the source within, is, in a way, the beginning of a
new life
.
M: Of course, when there is total surrender, complete relinquishment of all concern with one's past, presents and future, with one's physical and spiritual security and standing, a
new life
dawns, full of love and beauty; then the Guru is not important, for the disciple has broken the shell of self-defence.
Resist your old habits of feeling and thinking; keep on telling yourself: 'No, not so, it cannot be so; I am not like this, I do not need it, I do not want it', and a day will surely come when the entire structure of error and despair will collapse and the ground will be free for a
new life
.
new_self
Questioner: I have noticed a
new self
emerging in me, independent of the old self.
What is the attitude of the
new self
to the old?
Even the effort of striving for the
new self
is of the old.
new_york
Q: If time and space are mere illusions and you are beyond, please tell me what is the weather in
New York
.
Or, just travelling to
New York
.
I have just heard of
New York
.
Q: In putting the question about the weather in
New York
, where did I make the mistake?
nine_masters
Maharaj: We are called collectively the '
Nine Masters
'.
Even the '
Nine Masters
' (Navnath) are mythological.
The '
Nine Masters
' tradition, Navnath Parampara, is like a river -- it flows into the ocean of reality and whoever enters it is carried along.
Bur there is no unanimity regarding the names of these
nine Masters
.
nisarga_yoga
I draw special attention to the reader to the contribution entitled '
Nisarga Yoga
', in which my esteemed friend, the late Maurice Frydman, has succinctly presented the teaching of Maharaj.
Q: The Yoga of living, of life itself, we may call the Natural Yoga (
nisarga yoga
).
M: A life lived thoughtfully, in full awareness, is by itself
Nisarga Yoga
.
This is what I call
nisarga yoga
, the Natural yoga.
The
Nisarga Yoga
, the 'natural' Yoga of Maharaj, is disconcertingly simple -- the mind, which is all- becoming, must recognise and penetrate its own being, not as being this or that, here or there, then or now, but just as timeless being.
To delve into the sense of 'I' -- so real and vital -- in order to reach its source is the core of
Nisarga Yoga
.
This dwelling on the sense 'I am' is the simple, easy and natural Yoga, the
Nisarga Yoga
.
The
Nisarga Yoga
, when persevered in and brought to its fruition, results in one becoming conscious and active in what one always was unconsciously and passively.
nisargadatta_maharaj
Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
.
That there should be yet another addition of I AM THAT is not surprising, for the sublimity of the words spoken by Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
, their directness and the lucidity with which they refer to the Highest have already made this book a literature of paramount importance.
It was in such a state of scepticism, but also having an intuition of the basic reality, that I happened to read Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
's I AM THAT.
Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
is indeed such a Guru.
I am thankful to Sudhakar S. Dikshit, the editor, for inviting me to write the Foreword to this new edition of I AM THAT and thus giving me an opportunity to pay my homage to Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
, who has expounded highest knowledge in the simplest, clearest and the most convincing words.
Writing a biographical note on Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
is a frustrating and unrewarding task.
After his illuminating experience Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
started living such a dual life.
I met Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
some years back and was impressed with the spontaneous simplicity of his appearance and behaviour and his deep and genuine earnestness in expounding his experience.
A Marathi version of these talks, verified by Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
himself, has been separately published.
Not only the matter has now been re-set in a more readable typeface and with chapter headings, but new pictures of Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
have been included and the appendices contain some hitherto unpublished valuable material.
In fact Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
is peculiarly free from all disparagement and condemnation; the sinner and the saint are merely exchanging notes; the saint has sinned, the sinner can be sanctified.
By precept and example Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj
shows a short-cut, a-logical but empirically sound.
normal_state
Your question implies that anxiety is the
normal state
and courage is abnormal.
But what I am in myself, what is my
normal state
cannot be expressed in terms of social consciousness and usefulness.
Q: But thinking, reasoning is the mind's
normal state
.
M: It may be the habitual state, but it need not be the
normal state
.
A
normal state
cannot be painful, while a habit often leads to chronic pain.
Q: If it is not the natural, or
normal state
of mind, then how to stop it?
I used to sit for hours together, with, nothing but the 'I am' in my mind and soon peace and joy and a deep all-embracing love became my
normal state
.
Just as a dislocated joint pains only as long as it is out of shape, and is forgotten as soon as it is set right, so is all self-concern a symptom of mental distortion which disappears as soon as one is in the
normal state
.
M: Oh no, it is the
normal state
.
In the same sense am I telling you that the
Normal State
is not verbal.
nothing_else
Nothing else
matters.
As a matter of fact, you are doing
nothing else
.
I am immersed in this cloud and see
nothing else
.
Q: I am doing
nothing else
for the last 60 years.
Give your heart and mind to it, think of
nothing else
.
Nothing else
.
All the great teachers did
nothing else
.
M: The desire to find the self will be surely fulfilled, provided you want
nothing else
.
But you must be honest with yourself and really want
nothing else
.
Nothing else
has being.
Only reality is, there is
nothing else
.
The beingness in being, the awareness in consciousness, the interest in every experience -- that is not describable, yet perfectly accessible, for there is
nothing else
.
Yet the mind is
nothing else
but the self.
There is
nothing else
.
When you love the Self and
nothing else
, you go beyond the selfish and the unselfish.
There is
nothing else
to give up.
You have
nothing else
to do.
Krishnamurti is doing
nothing else
.
Think of it all the time and of
nothing else
.
M: But I am doing
nothing else
!
I am not interested in the transient, while you talk of
nothing else
.
Q:
Nothing else
is true?
To be open means to want
nothing else
.
My Guru ordered me to attend to the sense 'I am' and to give attention to
nothing else
.
You are the way and the goal, there is
nothing else
to reach except yourself.
M: I am doing
nothing else
, but showing the escape.
M: But I am doing
nothing else
all the time!
Q: I know only my conditioned existence; there is
nothing else
.
M: If your motives are pure, if you seek truth and
nothing else
, you will find the right people.
It is easily had when
nothing else
is wanted.
All religions do
nothing else
but preach acceptance and surrender.
nothing_exists
He suggests that you return again and again to 'I am' until it is your only abode, outside of which
nothing exists
; until the ego as a limitation of 'I am', has disappeared.
To me,
nothing exists
by itself.
Nothing exists
by itself.
Your natural state, in which
nothing exists
, cannot be a cause of becoming; the causes are hidden in the great and mysterious power of memory.
Your direct insight tells you that yourself you know first, for
nothing exists
to you without your being there to experience its existence.
nothing_happened
But in reality
nothing happened
.
Yet to me
nothing happened
.
Nothing happened
to space itself.
Everything happens, but there is a continuous cancelling out, and in the end it is as if
nothing happened
.
nothing_happens
Nothing happens
to me.
Q:
Nothing happens
there?
In my world
nothing happens
.
M:
Nothing happens
.
All happens as it needs, yet
nothing happens
.
Similarly,
nothing happens
to life when forms break down and names are wiped out.
In reality
nothing happens
.
Nothing happens
to the people, only they must look for some other means of communication.
In reality
nothing happens
, there is no past nor future; all appears and nothing is.
In reality
nothing happens
.
nothing_remains
Q: And
nothing remains
?
Nothing was,
nothing remains
.
Once over, it is over for good;
nothing remains
of it except a few sweet or bitter lessons.
nothing_wrong
Questioner: As I can see, there is
nothing wrong
with my body nor with my real being.
M: There is
nothing wrong
with duality as long as it does not create conflict.
There is
nothing wrong
with memory as such.
M: There is
nothing wrong
in the idea of a body, nor even in the idea 'I am the body'.
There is
nothing wrong
in trying to help the world.
There is
nothing wrong
in repeating the same truth again and again until it becomes reality.
There is
nothing wrong
with the senses, it is your imagination that misleads you.
There is
nothing wrong
with the world.
There is
nothing wrong
with your world, it is your thinking yourself to be separate from it that creates disorder.
There is
nothing wrong
with you as the Self.
There is
nothing wrong
in it.
M:
Nothing wrong
, if it solves the problem.
It is best expressed negatively as: 'there is
nothing wrong
with me.
Q: There is
nothing wrong
with my convictions; my actions are shaped by circumstances.
There is
nothing wrong
with suffering for the sins of others.
objective_universe
M: The
objective universe
(mahadakash) is in constant movement, projecting and dissolving innumerable forms.
I am inclined to believe that the
objective universe
is the real one and my subjective psyche is changeful and transient.
M: The
objective universe
has structure, is orderly and beautiful.
objective_world
The personality, based on self-identification, on imagining oneself to be something: 'I am this, I am that', continues, but only as a part of the
objective world
.
But surely behind these private worlds there must be a common
objective world
, of which the private worlds are mere shadows.
Do you deny the existence of such an
objective world
, common to all?
Q: Compassion implies the existence of an
objective world
, full of avoidable sorrow.
old_age
M: Go home, take charge of your father's business, look after your parents in their
old age
.
Q: We come across some great people, who, in their
old age
, become childish, petty, quarrelsome and spiteful.
Questioner: As I look at you, you seem to be a poor man with very limited means, facing all the problems of poverty and
old age
, like everybody else.
It gives us a chance to avoid the mistakes of childhood and youth, the frustrations of adulthood, the miseries and imbecility of
old age
.
Old age
is not pleasant -- all aches and pains, weakness and the approaching end.
old_man
The meagre income from the small farm dwindled further after the
old man
's death and was not sufficient to feed so many mouths.
How does a jnani feel as an
old man
?
All I see is a very interesting
old man
.
M: You are the interesting
old man
, not me!
Q: He is a venerable
old man
of about eighty.
one_reality
M: It is a reflection in a separate body of the
one reality
.
M: The two are but aspects of
one Reality
.
Awareness -- mind -- matter -- they are
one reality
in its two aspects as immovable and movable, and the three attributes of inertia, energy and harmony.
one_should
Normally,
one should
outgrow body-based desires early in life.
Q: In order to find the reality,
one should
discard all that stands in the way.
One should
not treat these matters lightly.
ordinary_man
The
ordinary man
is afraid to die, because he is afraid of change.
Questioner: When an
ordinary man
dies, what happens to him?
The
ordinary man
is personally concerned, he counts his risks and chances, while the jnani remains aloof, sure that all will happen as it must; and it does not matter much what happens, for ultimately the return to balance and harmony is inevitable.
others_suffer
But in his folly he makes
others suffer
.
In this vast ocean of life we suffer for the sins of others, and make
others suffer
for our sins.
You suffer and see
others suffer
, but you don't respond.
We suffer for the sins of others, as
others suffer
for ours.
Q:
Others suffer
.
outer_guru
When you personalise their source, you have an
outer Guru
; when you take them from life directly, the Guru is within.
Confide in him and you need no
outer Guru
.
M: It is the Inner Guru (sadguru) who takes you to the
Outer Guru
, as a mother takes her child to a teacher.
It is because you are indolent or restless, that your inner Self manifests as the
outer Guru
and makes you trust him and obey.
Even when there is no discoverable
outer Guru
, there is always the sadguru, the inner Guru, who directs and helps from within.
Q: What is the relation between the inner and the
outer Guru
s?
The
outer Guru
gives the instructions, the inner sends the strength; the alert application is the disciple's.
Without will, intelligence and energy on the part of the disciple the
outer Guru
is helpless.
Q: Can the
outer Guru
grant initiation (diksha)?
Q: I do understand that the
outer Guru
is needed to call my attention to myself and to the urgent need of doing something about myself.
outer_self
Remember that Yoga is the work of the inner self (vyakta) on the
outer self
(vyakti).
The
outer self
(vyakti) is merely a projection on the body-mind of the inner self (vyakta), which again is only an expression of the Supreme Self (avyakta) which is all and none.
They know well that the vyakti, the
outer self
, is but a shadow of the vyakta, the inner self, and they address and admonish the vyakta only.
They tell him to give attention to the
outer self
, to guide and help it, to feel responsible for it; in short, to be fully aware of it.
Awareness comes from the Supreme and pervades the inner self; the so-called
outer self
is only that part of one's being of which one is not aware.
You may put it differently: the body defines the
outer self
, consciousness the inner, and in pure awareness the Supreme is contacted.
Q: You said the body defines the
outer self
.
Since you have a body, do you have also an
outer self
?
M: The
outer self
and the inner both are imagined.
Is it the
outer self
, or the inner?
outer_world
Maharaj: We know the
outer world
of sensations and actions, but of our inner world of thoughts and feelings we know very little.
The
outer world
neither can help nor hinder.
As long as you believe that only the
outer world
is real, you remain its slave.
As you cannot separate the dream from yourself, so you cannot have an
outer world
independent of yourself.
particular_body
M: It is the change in the living process of a
particular body
.
You were never born nor will you ever die, but you believe that you were born at a certain date and place and that a
particular body
is your own.
The sense of identity will remain, but no longer identification with a
particular body
.
particular_cause
No thing in existence has a
particular cause
; the entire universe contributes to the existence of even the smallest thing; nothing could be as it is without the universe being what it is.
M: When I say a thing is without a cause, I mean it can be without a
particular cause
.
No
particular cause
can be ascribed to them, for each is caused by all and affects all.
particular_name
It is reflected in the mind as 'I am', as the ornament's
particular name
and shape.
M: You fight others all the time for your survival as a separate body-mind, a
particular name
and form.
Giving oneself a
particular name
does not help.
personal_existence
M: Shall we call it im
personal existence
?
On such flimsy foundations we build a sense of
personal existence
-- vague, intermittent, dreamlike.
M: Until we can look at fear and accept it as the shadow of
personal existence
, as persons we are bound to be afraid.
To be denied
personal existence
is frightening, but you must face it and find your identity with the totality of life.
personal_experience
Q: How does this look and feel in your
personal experience
?
I mean the actual entering into the minds and hearts of others and participating in their
personal experience
s.
M: You believe it is possible to transmit a
personal experience
?
M: The universe is your
personal experience
.
personal_life
Why not admit that one's entire
personal life
may sink largely below the threshold of consciousness and yet proceed sanely and smoothly?
Why not extend the same to the entire
personal life
?
Instead of struggling with the person to make it become what it is not, why not go beyond the waking state and leave the
personal life
altogether?
personal_universe
My
personal universe
is improving.
M: Your
personal universe
does not exist by itself.
Of your
personal universe
you are the centre -- without knowing the centre what else can you know?
personal_world
Thus is created the world in which we live, our
personal world
.
M: Is not the idea of a total world a part of your
personal world
?
This
personal world
can be changed -- in time.
But what could be the cause of the tremendous variety of the
personal world
s?
present_moment
Q: Here I am -- in the
present moment
.
Just flow with it and give yourself completely to the task of the
present moment
, which is the dying now to the now.
Within the narrow confines of the
present moment
, the super-personal is aware of the person, both in space and time; not only one person, but the long series of persons strung together on the thread of karma.
Q: There is suffering and bloodshed in East Pakistan at the
present moment
.
Questioner: What is your state at the
present moment
?
The essence of saintliness is total acceptance of the
present moment
, harmony with things as they happen.
The
present moment
, the.
In fact, you know only your
present moment
.
Q: You cannot deny the
present moment
, mind or no mind.
There may be other chances for other actions, but the
present moment
is lost -- irretrievably lost.
present_state
'Well', I say, 'suffice you are the Supreme, change your
present state
'.
M: How did you come to your
present state
?
Q: In my
present state
the 'I am the body' idea comes spontaneously, while the 'I am pure being' idea must be imposed on the mind as something true but not experienced.
You got yourself into your
present state
through verbal thinking; you must get out of it the same way.
M: What proof have you that your
present state
is beginningless and endless?
And of your
present state
-- how much do you know?
You only know a little of your
present state
and from it you draw conclusions for all times and places.
Your
present state
is neither beginningless nor endless.
But in your
present state
it is of no use to you.
M: Were the same tragedy to happen to you again, would you suffer as much, considering your
present state
of mind?
In your
present state
only the sense 'I am' refers to reality; the 'what' and the 'how I am' are illusions imposed by destiny, or accident.
Q: In your
present state
can you love another person as a person?
The memory of the last state -- compared to the actuality of the
present state
gives the experience of change.
private_world
And the world as seen from the mind is a subjective and
private world
, which changes continuously in accordance with the restlessness of the mind itself.
In fact all you know is your own
private world
, however well you have furnished it with your imaginations and expectations.
No doubt, this world is painted by you on the screen of consciousness and is entirely your own
private world
.
These
private world
s hardly touch each other and they arise from and merge into the 'I am' at their centre.
But surely behind these
private world
s there must be a common objective world, of which the
private world
s are mere shadows.
projected_onto
The world of my own creation may be quite unlike the ultimate, the real world, just like the cinema screen is quite unlike the pictures
projected onto
it.
The main point to grasp is that you have
projected onto
yourself a world of your own imagination, based on memories, on desires and fears, and that you have imprisoned yourself in it.
Once you realise that all comes from within, that the world in which you live has not been
projected onto
you but by you, your fear comes to an end.
pure_awareness
When
pure awareness
is attained, no need exists any more, not even for 'I am', which is but a useful pointer, a direction-indicator towards the Absolute.
We withdraw from the experience and its experiencer and stand apart in
pure awareness
, which is between and beyond the two.
M: If you trust me, believe when I tell you that you are the
pure awareness
that illuminates consciousness and its infinite content.
I saw that in the ocean of
pure awareness
, on the surface of the universal consciousness, the numberless waves of the phenomenal worlds arise and subside beginninglessly and endlessly.
By itself the light can only be compared to a solid, dense, rocklike, homogeneous and changeless mass of
pure awareness
, free from the mental patterns of name and shape.
The light of
Pure Awareness
(pragna), focussed as 'I am' in the Self (jivatma), as consciousness (chetana) illumines the mind (antahkarana) and as life (prana) vitalises the body (deha).
You are always the Supreme which appears at a given point of time and space as the witness, a bridge between the
pure awareness
of the Supreme and the manifold consciousness of the person.
At the level of the absolute there are no persons; the ocean of
pure awareness
is neither virtuous nor sinful.
Just like ice turns to water and water to vapour, and vapour dissolves in air and disappears in space, so does the body dissolve into
pure awareness
(chidakash), then into pure being (paramakash), which is beyond all existence and non-existence.
Is not
pure awareness
the link between the two?
M: Even
pure awareness
is a form of consciousness.
The centre is a point of void and the witness a point of
pure awareness
; they know themselves to be as nothing, therefore nothing can resist them.
M: What is perceived in
pure awareness
, unaffected by desire.
This vague persuasion: 'I-am-so-and-so' obscures the changeless state of
pure awareness
and makes us believe that we are born to suffer and to die.
It is a state of
pure awareness
, beyond the limitations of space and time.
As you cannot see your face, but only its reflection in the mirror, so you can know only your image reflected in the stainless mirror of
pure awareness
.
The nature of the self is
pure awareness
, pure witnessing, unaffected by the presence or absence of knowledge or liking.
At the root of my being is
pure awareness
, a speck of intense light.
First we must know ourselves as witnesses only, dimensionless and timeless centres of observation, and then realise that immense ocean of
pure awareness
, which is both mind and matter and beyond both.
Pure awareness
becomes self-awareness.
Behave as if you were
pure awareness
, bodiless and mindless, spaceless and timeless, beyond 'where' and 'when' and 'how'.
You may put it differently: the body defines the outer self, consciousness the inner, and in
pure awareness
the Supreme is contacted.
It is
pure awareness
free from the subject object nexus.
You come to it when you see all you think yourself to be as mere imagination and stand aloof in
pure awareness
of the transient as transient, imaginary as imaginary, unreal as unreal.
It is
pure awareness
of being, without being this or that, without any self-identification with anything in particular, or in general.
That which makes both possible, and yet is neither, is your real being, which means not being a 'this' or 'that', but
pure awareness
of being and not-being.
The personality gives place to the witness, then the witness goes and
pure awareness
remains.
Take note of the peculiar nature of
pure awareness
, its natural self-identity, without the least trace of self-consciousness, and go to the root of it and you will soon realise that awareness is your true nature and nothing you may be aware of, you can call your own.
But still there is a difference between awareness as reflected in consciousness and
pure awareness
beyond consciousness.
Reflected awareness, the sense 'I am aware' is the witness, while
pure awareness
is the essence of reality.
Between awareness reflected in consciousness as the witness and
pure awareness
there is a gap, which the mind cannot cross.
And
pure awareness
beyond consciousness is the supreme Guru.
Q: Between the body and
pure awareness
stands the 'inner organ', antahkarana, the 'subtle body', the 'mental body', whatever the name.
They need the light of
pure awareness
to function rightly.
But at the root of the universe there is
pure awareness
, beyond space and time, here and now.
From the awareness of the unreal to the awareness of your real nature there is a chasm which you will easily cross, once you have mastered the art of
pure awareness
.
To my own surprise, I remain as I am --
pure awareness
, alert to all that happens.
pure_being
In
pure being
consciousness arises; in consciousness the world appears and disappears.
In relation to the universe he is
pure being
.
Pure being
is reflected in the mirror of the mind, as knowing.
M: You remain as
pure being
.
M:
Pure being
(avyakta).
The person is relative and the
pure Being
-- fundamental.
Q: Surely
pure Being
is not unconscious, nor is it devoid of discrimination.
Just like ice turns to water and water to vapour, and vapour dissolves in air and disappears in space, so does the body dissolve into pure awareness (chidakash), then into
pure being
(paramakash), which is beyond all existence and non-existence.
When your attention is off a thing and not yet fixed on another, in the interval you are
pure being
.
When through the practice of discrimination and detachment (viveka-vairagya), you lose sight of sensory and mental states,
pure being
emerges as the natural state.
Pure being
cannot be described.
As salt dissolves in water, so does everything dissolve into
pure being
.
Q: In my present state the 'I am the body' idea comes spontaneously, while the 'I am
pure being
' idea must be imposed on the mind as something true but not experienced.
M: When you have understood that all existence, in separation and limitation, is painful, and when you are willing and able to live integrally, in oneness with all life, as
pure being
, you have gone beyond all need of help.
Q: How do you come to know a state of
pure being
which is neither conscious nor unconscious?
There is something changeless, motionless, immovable, rocklike, unassailable; a solid mass of
pure being
-consciousness-bliss.
Once you have known
pure being
, without being this or that, you will discern it among experiences and you will no longer be misled by names and forms.
Go back to that state of
pure being
, where the 'I am' is still in its purity before it got contaminated with 'this I am' or 'that I am'.
I simply followed his instruction which was to focus the mind on
pure being
'I am', and stay in it.
I know myself and I find no life nor death in me, only
pure being
-- not being this or that, but just being.
Besides, you know only pleasure, not the bliss of
pure being
.
' You are
pure being
-- awareness -- bliss.
There is
pure being
, free of experiencing anything in particular.
M:
Pure being
, filling all and beyond all, is not existence which is limited.
Pervading and transcending is Reality,
pure being
-- awareness -- bliss, your very essence.
In the same way one can talk of the
pure being
and pure creation -- nameless, formless, silent and yet absolutely real, powerful, effective.
When you go beyond awareness, there is a state of non-duality, in which there is no cognition, only
pure being
, which may be as well called non-being, if by being you mean being something in particular.
Q: What you call
pure being
is it universal being, being everything?
In
pure being
the very idea of the particular is absent.
Q: Is there any relationship between
pure being
and particular being?
the succession of transient moments creates the illusion of time, but the timeless reality of
pure being
is not in movement, for all movement requires a motionless background.
The final stage of meditation is reached when the sense of identity goes beyond the 'I-am-so-and-so', beyond 'so-l-am', beyond 'I-am-the-witness-only', beyond 'there-is', beyond all ideas into the impersonally personal
pure being
.
We enjoy them for a time and then get tired and crave for the peace and silence of
pure being
.
You said that before I was born I was one with the
pure being
of reality; if so, who decided that I should be born?
The person merges into the witness, the witness into awareness, awareness into
pure being
, yet identity is not lost, only its limitations are lost.
Awareness and matter are the active and the passive aspects of
pure being
, which is in both and beyond both.
Pure being
is quite independent of existence, which is definable and describable.
With the cessation of imagination and desire, becoming ceases and the being this or that merges into
pure being
, which is not describable, only experienceable.
Once you know yourself as
pure being
, the ecstasy of freedom is your own.
pure_consciousness
M: As long as you are a seeker, better cling to the idea that you are
pure consciousness
, free from all content.
In consciousness it comes into being, in consciousness it lasts and into
pure consciousness
it dissolves.
In
pure consciousness
there is light.
It shatters the state of
pure consciousness
and is followed by the innumerable sensations and perceptions, feeling and ideas which in their totality constitute God and His world.
Objective consciousness is a part of
pure consciousness
, not beyond it.
Q: Reality is described as true being,
pure consciousness
, infinite bliss.
I am
pure Consciousness
itself, unbroken awareness of all that is.
M: In
pure consciousness
nothing ever happens.
Some call it super- consciousness, or
pure consciousness
, or supreme consciousness.
It is what remains when all self- identification is given up as false --
pure consciousness
, the sense of being all there is, or could be.
Somebody, anybody, will tell you that you are
pure consciousness
, not a body-mind.
pure_light
Even the sense of 'I am' is composed of the
pure light
and the sense of being.
So is the
pure light
there whether you say 'I' or not.
Become aware of that
pure light
and you will never lose it.
But here and now, through all your bodies and souls shines awareness, the
pure light
of chit.
In that
pure light
of consciousness there is nothing, not even the idea of nothing.
realise that your true nature is that of
pure light
only, and both the perceived and the perceiver come and go together.
M: Emptiness remains, awareness remains,
pure light
of the conscious being remains.
Similarly you are
pure light
appearing as a picture on the screen and also becoming one with it.
pure_mind
But the state of feeling oneself the body, the body-mind, the mind-body, or even
pure mind
-- when did it begin?
The
pure mind
sees things as they are -- bubbles in consciousness.
Concepts like Self, Reality,
pure mind
, universal consciousness the Indian mind grasps easily.
The im
pure mind
is opaque to truth; the
pure mind
is transparent.
pure_witness
M: When the mind is quiet, we come to know ourselves as the
pure witness
.
M: The attitude of
pure witness
ing, of watching the events without taking part in them.
The fourth state (turiya) is a state of
pure witness
ing, detached awareness, passionless and wordless.
The nature of the self is pure awareness,
pure witness
ing, unaffected by the presence or absence of knowledge or liking.
Of course it is beyond the witness, but to enter it one must first realise the state of
pure witness
ing.
Q: How does one get established in the higher state, the state of
pure witness
ing?
Abandon all ideas about yourself and you will find yourself to be the
pure witness
, beyond all that can happen to the body or the mind.
As
pure witness
, he watches what is going on and remains unaffected.
True awareness (samvid) is a state of
pure witness
ing, without the least attempt to do anything about the event witnessed.
Remain as
pure witness
, till even witnessing dissolves in the Supreme.
pure_witnessing
M: The attitude of
pure witnessing
, of watching the events without taking part in them.
The fourth state (turiya) is a state of
pure witnessing
, detached awareness, passionless and wordless.
The nature of the self is pure awareness,
pure witnessing
, unaffected by the presence or absence of knowledge or liking.
Of course it is beyond the witness, but to enter it one must first realise the state of
pure witnessing
.
Q: How does one get established in the higher state, the state of
pure witnessing
?
True awareness (samvid) is a state of
pure witnessing
, without the least attempt to do anything about the event witnessed.
purposeful_action
Q: If everything is an expression of the totality of causes, how can we talk of a
purposeful action
towards an achievement?
Without causality there will be no order; nor
purposeful action
will be possible.
Q: No
purposeful action
is then possible?
Q: What is wrong with
purposeful action
?
quiet_mind
Q: What is the use of a
quiet mind
?
65: A
Quiet Mind
is All You Need.
M: A
quiet mind
is all you need.
A
quiet mind
, undistorted by desires and fears, free from ideas and opinions, clear on all the levels, is needed to reflect the reality.
A
quiet mind
is essential for right perception, which again is required for self-realisation.
M: A
quiet mind
is not a dead mind.
When you talk of a
quiet mind
, what is it?
quite_spontaneously
It all happens
quite spontaneously
and effortlessly.
M: From my point of view everything happens by itself,
quite spontaneously
.
It will all come in due course,
quite spontaneously
.
ramana_maharshi
Even Bhagavan Sri
Ramana Maharshi
imposed on himself 20 years of silence before he began to teach.
Q: Sri
Ramana Maharshi
's teachings have put me on my way.
Q: Sri
Ramana Maharshi
died.
Can I ask you what is your opinion of Sri
Ramana Maharshi
?
Q: Yes, Sri
Ramana Maharshi
used to say: Gurus there are many, but where are the disciples?
real_being
Questioner: As I can see, there is nothing wrong with my body nor with my
real being
.
M: It is not your
real being
that is restless, but its reflection in the mind appears restless because the mind is restless.
Discrimination will lead to detachment; detachment will ensure right action; right action will build the inner bridge to your
real being
.
Q: Our
real being
is all the time with us, you say.
Only in complete self-negation there is a chance to discover our
real being
.
Q: You say that in our
real being
we are all equal.
These bubbles are appearing, disappearing and reappearing -- without having
real being
.
The moment you know your
real being
, you are afraid of nothing.
Give your
real being
a chance to shape your life.
You are judging me by my clothes and food; while I only look at your motives; if you believe to be the body and the mind and act on it you are guilty of the greatest cruelty -- cruelty to your own
real being
.
Just as at birth you discover the world suddenly, as suddenly I discovered my
real being
.
He alone who was before the Creator, your own
real being
, the source of all the worlds with their creators.
Yet, my
real being
, and yours too, is beyond the universe and, therefore, beyond the categories of the particular and the universal.
Find out your
real being
.
What can there be but your
real being
, that is timeless; mind and mindlessness are one to it.
No happening affects your
real being
-- this is the absolute truth.
You can know what you are not, but you can not know your
real being
.
There are no causes, but your ignorance of your
real being
, which is perfect and beyond all causation.
The
real being
is reflected in the mind undistorted.
That which makes both possible, and yet is neither, is your
real being
, which means not being a 'this' or 'that', but pure awareness of being and not-being.
Everybody loves his body, but few love their
real being
.
Q: Does my
real being
need my love?
M: Your
real being
is love itself and your many loves are its reflections according to the situation at the moment.
Know it to be your
real being
and act accordingly.
Only what is compatible with your
real being
can make you happy and the world, as you perceive it, is its outright denial.
Of course, if you are ignorant of your
real being
, whatever you do must turn to ashes.
In your
real being
vow are the whole.
real_guru
The Guru you have in mind, one who gives you information and instructions, is not the
real Guru
.
The
real Guru
is he who knows the real, beyond the glamour of appearances.
He was a
real Guru
!
Maharaj: The innermost light, shining peacefully and timelessly in the heart, is the
real Guru
.
The good people who have read a lot and have a lot to say, may teach you many useful things, but they are not the
real Guru
s whose words invariably come true.
M: If you are able to trust and obey, you will soon find your
real Guru
, or rather, he will find you.
Questioner: You were telling us that there are many self-styled Gurus, but a
real Guru
is very rare.
Or, you can put it differently: Until you realise yourself, you cannot know who is your
real Guru
.
Q: I feel that the Guru of my own choice can not be my
real Guru
.
real_happiness
Acceptance of pain, non-resistance, courage and endurance -- these open deep and perennial sources of
real happiness
, true bliss.
Some truth, some inner certainty, some
real happiness
.
Real happiness
is not vulnerable, because it does not depend on circumstances.
Real happiness
flows from within.
But the world cannot give what it does not have; unreal to the core, it is of no use for
real happiness
.
Real happiness
is utterly unselfconscious.
If you seek
real happiness
, unassailable and unchangeable, you must leave the world with its pains and pleasures behind you.
real_nature
M: You are the Self, here and now Leave the mind alone, stand aware and unconcerned and you will realise that to stand alert but detached, watching events come and go, is an aspect of your
real nature
.
All you need is to keep quietly alert, enquiring into the
real nature
of yourself.
Q: The witnessing -- is it not my
real nature
?
Striving itself is your
real nature
.
Q: If reality is my
real nature
, how can I ever be unready?
No, since jnanis are not made, they realise themselves as such, when they return to their source, their
real nature
.
He considers himself to be perfectly normal, true to his
real nature
.
Any name or shape you give yourself obscures your
real nature
.
The ending of the self with its desires and fears enables you to return to your
real nature
, the source of all happiness and peace.
M: When more people come to know their
real nature
, their influence, however subtle, will prevail and the world's emotional atmosphere will sweeten up.
When I return home I find myself forgetting all l have learnt here, worrying and fretting, unable to remember my
real nature
even for a moment.
It blinds you completely to your
real nature
.
Once you reach your destination and Know your
real nature
, your existence becomes a blessing to all.
M: Sattva is the radiance of your
real nature
.
Your
real nature
is not like what you appear to be.
Truth and love are man's
real nature
and mind and heart are the means of its expression.
While alive, it attracts attention and fascinates so completely that rarely does one perceive one's
real nature
.
Happiness is our
real nature
and we shall never rest until we find it.
Find out for yourself the state of wakeful sleep and you will find it quite in harmony with your
real nature
.
From the awareness of the unreal to the awareness of your
real nature
there is a chasm which you will easily cross, once you have mastered the art of pure awareness.
He knows the
real nature
-- his own and his listeners' -- and he points it out.
real_progress
This search will never end, while the restless craving for all else must end, for
real progress
to take place.
If you want to make
real progress
you must give up all idea of personal attainment.
All
real progress
is irreversible.
real_self
Find your
real self
(swarupa) and all else will come with it.
Q: If my
real self
is peace and love, why is it so restless?
To know one's
real self
is bliss, to forget -- is sorrow.
Q: Is the witness-consciousness the
real Self
?
The false self must be abandoned before the
real self
can be found.
What you call the
real self
is a mere concept, a way of speaking, a creature of the mind, an attractive ghost.
Q: I am trying to rejoin the personality back to the
real self
.
But his laws are the laws of his
real self
, not of his society.
Whatever he does, if he does it for the sake of finding his own
real self
, will surely bring him to himself.
Tell me, what steps have you taken to separate your
real self
, that in you which is changeless, from your body and mind?
Only something as vast and deep as your
real self
can make you truly and lastingly happy.
What is observable is not the
real self
.
My Guru told me: that child, which is you even now, is your
real self
(swarupa).
realise your
real self
and even drugs will have no power over you.
Trust and obey your Guru, for he is the messenger of your
Real Self
.
A Guru can show the way back home, to your
real self
.
Watch the sense 'I am', find your
real self
'.
Just like in a dream all is different, except the sense of 'I', which enables you to say 'I dreamt', so does the sense of 'I am' enable you to say 'I am my
real Self
again'.
After all, the
real Self
of both is not affected by the comedy they play for a time.
The Guru only tells you the good news about your
real Self
and shows you the way back to it.
It is transfigured, and becomes the
real Self
, the sadguru, the eternal friend and guide.
Resolutely reject what you are not, till the
real Self
emerges in its glorious nothingness, its 'not-a-thingness.
But the
real self
cannot be described except in terms supplied by the person, in terms of what I am not.
Q: The only difference between us seems to be that while I keep on saying that I do not know my
real self
, you maintain that you know it well; is there any other difference between us?
real_world
4:
Real World
is Beyond the Mind.
The
real world
is beyond the mind's ken; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer.
M: There is no need of a link between a
real world
and an imaginary world, for there cannot be any.
Similarly, we have divorced ourselves in our imagination from the
real world
of common experience and enclosed ourselves in a cloud of personal desire and fears, images and thoughts, ideas and concepts.
The world of my own creation may be quite unlike the ultimate, the
real world
, just like the cinema screen is quite unlike the pictures projected onto it.
Q: I admit that the world in which I live is not the
real world
.
But there is a
real world
, of which I see a distorted picture.
But when you say there is no
real world
, only a dream world in my mind, I just cannot take it.
The
real world
lies beyond the self.
M: It does -- in my
real world
.
realise_yourself
By going beyond it you
realise yourself
.
As you
realise yourself
in manifestation, you keep on discovering that you are ever more than what you have imagined.
M: Contemplate life as infinite, undivided, ever present, ever active, until you
realise yourself
as one with it.
M:
realise yourself
as the ocean of consciousness in which all happens.
You must
realise yourself
as the immovable, behind and beyond the movable, the silent witness of all that happens.
realise yourself
as away from all that can be pointed at as 'this' or 'that'.
realise yourself
as the source and not as the river; that is all.
Or, you can put it differently: Until you
realise yourself
, you cannot know who is your real Guru.
When you
realise yourself
as less than a point in space and time, something too small to be cut and too short-lived to be killed, then, and then only, all fear goes.
realised_man
Q: The fully
realised man
, spontaneously abiding in the supreme state, appears to eat, drink and so on.
Q: The
realised man
eats, drinks and sleeps.
M: This only: The
realised man
knows what others merely hear; but don't experience.
Intellectually they may seem convinced, but in action they betray their bondage, while the
realised man
is always right.
The
realised man
too says 'I am'.
With the
realised man
the experience: 'I am the world, the world is mine' is supremely valid -- he thinks, feels and acts integrally and in unity with all that lives.
Q: Does a
realised man
ever think: 'I am realised?
Similarly, the
realised man
is egoless; he has lost the capacity of identifying himself with anything.
Q: I was told that a
realised man
will never do anything unseemly.
Rare is the
realised man
who discloses his realisation and fortunate are those who have met him, for he does it for their abiding welfare.
The very notion of a liberated man, a
realised man
, a self-knower, a God-knower, a man beyond the world, is unknown to them.
Questioner: What is the daily and hourly state of mind of a
realised man
?
Who is a
realised man
?
After all, the
realised man
is the most earnest man.
Maharaj: You have met many anchorites and ascetics, but a fully
realised man
conscious of his divinity (swarupa) is hard to find.
M: Words of a
realised man
never miss their purpose.
Do not try to impress on him that so-and-so is a
realised man
and can be accepted as a Guru.
The
realised man
lives on the level of the absolutes; his wisdom, love and courage are complete, there is nothing relative about him.
realised_people
Questioner: I have met many
realised people
, but never a liberated man.
Apart from the verbal testimony of the so-called
realised people
, is there no way of verifying their state objectively.
Q: Some
realised people
say that knowledge must be won, not got.
This is the role of the
realised people
-- to set an example of perfection for others to admire and love.
realised people
are very quiet.
Q: I have found that the
realised people
usually describe their state in terms borrowed from their religion.
reality_beyond
There must be
reality beyond
it.
It is the
reality beyond
existence.
And then you will bring in a knower of
reality beyond
reality!
You are the Supreme
Reality beyond
the world and its creator, beyond consciousness and its witness, beyond all assertions and denials.
Remember it, think of it, explore it, go round it, look at it from all directions, dive into it with earnest perseverance: endure all delays and disappointments till suddenly the mind turns round, away from the word, towards the
reality beyond
the word.
reality_lies
19:
Reality lies
in Objectivity.
Reality lies
in objectivity.
The knower is the immutable support of all knowledge; Each needs the other, but
reality lies
beyond.
The Immutable
Reality lies
beyond space and time.
reality_manifests
The Supreme
Reality manifests
itself in innumerable ways.
It is only when the observer (vyakta) accepts the person (vyakti) as a projection or manifestation of himself, and, so to say, takes the self into the Self, the duality of 'I' and 'this' goes and in the identity of the outer and the inner the Supreme
Reality manifests
itself.
Q: It is said that
Reality manifests
itself as existence -- consciousness -- bliss.
reality_nothing
For in
reality nothing
is of value.
In
reality nothing
ever happens.
But in
reality nothing
happened.
In
reality nothing
is lacking and nothing is needed, all work is on the surface only.
In
reality nothing
happens.
In
reality nothing
happens, there is no past nor future; all appears and nothing is.
In
reality nothing
happens.
reality_within
Give attention to the
reality within
you and it will come to light.
But the main thing that helps is to have
reality within
.
Please it, after return to the States, do nothing that may be unworthy of the glorious
reality within
your heart and you shall be happy and remain happy.
reality_without
Just as a cloud obscures the sun without in any way affecting it, so does assumption obscure
reality without
destroying it.
Merely talking about
Reality without
doing anything about it is self-defeating.
Q: Does every knower of the Self become a Guru, or can one be a knower of
Reality without
being able to take others to it?
remind_yourself
Resolutely
remind yourself
that you are not the mind and that its problems are not yours.
Whatever happens,
remind yourself
that only your body and mind are affected, not yourself.
Use every opportunity to
remind yourself
that you are in bondage, that whatever happens to you is due to the fact of your bodily existence.
right_guru
They are ever in search of the
right Guru
, changing one for another.
M: Be the right man and the
right Guru
will surely find you.
Q: You are not answering my question: how to find the
right Guru
?
right_state
M: If you are in the
right state
, whatever you see will put you into samadhi.
M: The
right state
and use of the body and the mind are intensely pleasant.
What we are trying to do here is to bring our minds into the
right state
for understanding what is real.
right_teacher
For this you must find the
right teacher
and create the conditions needed for discovery.
The right disciple will always find the
right teacher
.
Under the
right teacher
the disciple learns to learn, not to remember and obey.
rishi_dattatreya
The legend says that our first teacher was
Rishi Dattatreya
, the great incarnation of the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Q: Since you count your spiritual ancestry from
Rishi Dattatreya
, are we right in believing that you and all your predecessors are reincarnations of the Rishi?
Some scholars are of the view that this sect originated with the teachings of the mythical
Rishi Dattatreya
, who is believed to be a combined incarnation of the holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
root_cause
The
root cause
is one: the sense 'I am'.
81:
Root Cause
of Fear.
Understand the
root cause
of your fears -- estrangement from yourself: and of desires -- the longing for the self, and your karma will dissolve like a dream.
search_within
Words merely add to the confusion and the only wise course is the silent
search within
.
Just
search within
yourself.
To find order you must
search within
.
Enquire,
search within
and you will know.
You can skip all the preparation and go directly for the ultimate
search within
.
Look within,
search within
.
see_god
M: When you see the world you
see God
.
Beyond the world to
see God
is to be God.
Q: Must I see the world to
see God
?
seek_happiness
Q: All beings
seek happiness
.
Q: I
seek happiness
, not comfort.
Does a happy man
seek happiness
?
But somehow I lose my bearings again and again and begin to
seek happiness
in outer things.
Because you are not happy you
seek happiness
in pleasure; pleasure brings in pain and therefore you call it worldly; you then long for some other pleasure, without pain, which you call divine.
Unafraid, you will not be unhappy, nor will you
seek happiness
.
seek_reality
M: If you
seek reality
you must set yourself free of all backgrounds, of all cultures, of all patterns of thinking and feeling.
Q: Why then all these exhortations to practice Yoga and
seek reality
?
I
seek Reality
.
seek_within
M:
Seek within
.
He will constantly bring you back to the fact of your inherent perfection and encourage you to
seek within
.
Go ever deeper into yourself,
seek within
, there is neither violence nor non- violence in self-discovery.
selfless_work
You may begin with
selfless work
, abandoning the fruits of action; you may then give up thinking and end in giving up all desires.
His teaching is traditional with stress on karma Yoga,
selfless work
, service of the Guru etc.
Like the Gita, he says that
selfless work
will result in salvation.
separate_existence
After all, all the Yogas, whatever their source and character, have only one aim: to save you from the calamity of
separate existence
, of being a meaningless dot in a vast and beautiful picture.
You
separate existence
from being and being from reality, while to me it is all one.
separate_person
M: As long as we imagine ourselves to be
separate person
alities, one quite apart from another, we cannot grasp reality which is essentially impersonal.
Q: Whatever I may be in reality, yet I feel myself to be a small and
separate person
, one amongst many.
There is no such thing as a
separate person
.
It is useless to fight the sense of being a limited and
separate person
unless the roots of it are laid bare.
See that there is no such thing as a permanently
separate person
and all becomes clear.
He has no sense of being a
separate person
.
shall_become
I
shall become
a nobody, a nothing !
Q: If you could tell me what I
shall become
, it may help me to watch over my development.
M: How can anybody tell you what you
shall become
when there is no becoming?
shall_die
Q: I was born, I
shall die
.
I am told I
shall die
I do not expect it.
I live a happy life and
shall die
a happy death.
Q: I was born, I have grown, I
shall die
.
Q: But I was born as a body, in a body and
shall die
with the body, as a body.
It is the idea that was born and
shall die
, not you.
I cried when I was born and I
shall die
laughing.
M: In reality you were never born and never
shall die
.
shall_discover
Search and you
shall discover
the Universal Person, who is yourself and infinitely more.
87: Keep the Mind Silent and You
shall Discover
.
Abandon all desires, keep your mind silent and you
shall discover
.
siddharameshwar_maharaj
Among his friends during this period was one Yashwantrao Baagkar, who was a devotee of Sri
Siddharameshwar Maharaj
, a spiritual teacher of the Navnath Sampradaya, a sect of Hinduism.
Among his disciples were Amburao Maharaj, Girimalleshwar Maharaj,
Siddharameshwar Maharaj
and the noted philosopher Dr. R. D. Renade.
silent_witness
You must realise yourself as the immovable, behind and beyond the movable, the
silent witness
of all that happens.
Q: You say you are the
silent witness
and also you are beyond consciousness.
Remain as the
silent witness
only.
All that happens in the universe happens to you, the
silent witness
.
Q: It is, no doubt, very gratifying to hear that one is the
silent witness
as well as the universal energy.
since_immemorial
Q:
Since immemorial
time, during innumerable births, I build and improve and beautify my world.
Since immemorial
times people were breaking into reality.
Since immemorial
time the dust of events was covering the clear mirror of your mind, so that only memories you could see.
special_training
Such things need
special training
.
But bringing down into the brain the content of another brain requires
special training
.
Such things require
special training
.
spiritual_life
The seed of
spiritual life
grows in silence and in darkness until its appointed hour.
Q: In India
spiritual life
is easy.
89: Progress in
Spiritual Life
.
Q: What are the signs of progress in
spiritual life
?
spiritual_practice
A selfish man turns religious, controls himself, refines his thoughts and feelings, takes to
spiritual practice
, realises his true being.
38:
Spiritual Practice
is Will Asserted and Re-asserted.
Spiritual practice
is will asserted and re-asserted.
Q: We were told that of all forms of
spiritual practice
s the practice of the attitude of a mere witness is the most efficacious.
Q: Just sitting near you can it be considered
spiritual practice
?
Maharaj: Any
spiritual practice
s (sadhanas)?
Q: I have understood that all
spiritual practice
consists in the elimination of the personal self.
Q: Is the waking state more important for
spiritual practice
than sleep?
Not only the conscious but the unconscious as well should be taken care of in our
spiritual practice
.
sri_nisargadatta
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj.
That there should be yet another addition of I AM THAT is not surprising, for the sublimity of the words spoken by
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj, their directness and the lucidity with which they refer to the Highest have already made this book a literature of paramount importance.
It was in such a state of scepticism, but also having an intuition of the basic reality, that I happened to read
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj's I AM THAT.
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj is indeed such a Guru.
The best that you can do is listen attentively to the jnani -- of whom
Sri Nisargadatta
is a living example -- and to trust and believe him.
I am thankful to Sudhakar S. Dikshit, the editor, for inviting me to write the Foreword to this new edition of I AM THAT and thus giving me an opportunity to pay my homage to
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj, who has expounded highest knowledge in the simplest, clearest and the most convincing words.
Writing a biographical note on
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj is a frustrating and unrewarding task.
The identity of Maruti, the petty shopkeeper, dissolved and the illuminating personality of
Sri Nisargadatta
emerged.
After his illuminating experience
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj started living such a dual life.
I met
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj some years back and was impressed with the spontaneous simplicity of his appearance and behaviour and his deep and genuine earnestness in expounding his experience.
A Marathi version of these talks, verified by
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj himself, has been separately published.
Not only the matter has now been re-set in a more readable typeface and with chapter headings, but new pictures of
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj have been included and the appendices contain some hitherto unpublished valuable material.
In fact
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj is peculiarly free from all disparagement and condemnation; the sinner and the saint are merely exchanging notes; the saint has sinned, the sinner can be sanctified.
By precept and example
Sri Nisargadatta
Maharaj shows a short-cut, a-logical but empirically sound.
It may be mentioned here that, though officially the current Guru of the Inchegeri branch of the Navnath Sampradaya,
Sri Nisargadatta
does not seem to attach much importance to sects, cults and creeds, including his own.
sri_ramana
Even Bhagavan
Sri Ramana
Maharshi imposed on himself 20 years of silence before he began to teach.
Q:
Sri Ramana
Maharshi's teachings have put me on my way.
Q:
Sri Ramana
Maharshi died.
Q: When I was at
Sri Ramana
shram, I felt Bhagwan all over the place, all-pervading, all-perceiving.
Questioner: I have just arrived from
Sri Ramana
shram.
We have also spent two months at
Sri Ramana
shram at Tiruvannamalai.
M: What were you doing at the
Sri Ramana
shram?
Q: I have been at
Sri Ramana
shram and also I have visited Rishikesh.
Can I ask you what is your opinion of
Sri Ramana
Maharshi?
Q: Yes,
Sri Ramana
Maharshi used to say: Gurus there are many, but where are the disciples?
Questioner: I was born in the United States, and the last fourteen months I have spent in
Sri Ramana
shram; now I am on my way back to the States where my mother is expecting me.
M: These fourteen months at
Sri Ramana
shram, what did they give you?
At
Sri Ramana
shram did you get some instructions?
sri_ramanashram
Q: When I was at
Sri Ramanashram
, I felt Bhagwan all over the place, all-pervading, all-perceiving.
Questioner: I have just arrived from
Sri Ramanashram
.
We have also spent two months at
Sri Ramanashram
at Tiruvannamalai.
M: What were you doing at the
Sri Ramanashram
?
Q: I have been at
Sri Ramanashram
and also I have visited Rishikesh.
Questioner: I was born in the United States, and the last fourteen months I have spent in
Sri Ramanashram
; now I am on my way back to the States where my mother is expecting me.
M: These fourteen months at
Sri Ramanashram
, what did they give you?
At
Sri Ramanashram
did you get some instructions?
stand_aloof
You come to it when you see all you think yourself to be as mere imagination and
stand aloof
in pure awareness of the transient as transient, imaginary as imaginary, unreal as unreal.
Stand aloof
.
M: If you
stand aloof
as observer only, you will not suffer.
stand_apart
We withdraw from the experience and its experiencer and
stand apart
in pure awareness, which is between and beyond the two.
When I
stand apart
, I am their master.
You imagine reality to
stand apart
from names and forms, while to me names and forms are the ever changing expressions of reality and not apart from it.
stands_beyond
8: The Self
Stands Beyond
Mind.
The Self
stands beyond
the mind, aware, but unconcerned.
stop_dreaming
Who is to
stop dreaming
?
It is your private dream world and my only reaction to it is to ask you to
stop dreaming
.
M: Again it is like asking: 'What shall I do, if I
stop dreaming
?
stop_imagining
Stop imagining
yourself being or doing this or that and the realisation that you are the source and heart of all will dawn upon you.
I ask you only to
stop imagining
that you were born, have parents, are a body, will die and so on.
Stop imagining
that the dream is yours.
Stop imagining
, stop believing.
To be yourself,
stop imagining
yourself to be this or that.
stop_searching
All you need is to
stop searching
outside what can be found only within.
Stop searching
, and see -- it is here and now -- it is that 'I am' you know so well.
Stop searching
, cease losing.
stop_thinking
It is enough to
stop thinking
and desiring anything, but the Supreme.
Just
stop thinking
you are the bodies and the problems of love and sex will lose their meaning.
You need not
stop thinking
.
So, first of all abandon all self-identification,
stop thinking
of yourself as such-and-such, so-and-so, this or that.
Abandon all self-concern, worry not about your welfare, material or spiritual, abandon every desire, gross or subtle,
stop thinking
of achievement of any kind.
Q: So you say I should try to
stop thinking
and stay steady in the idea: 'I am'.
strange_experiences
Q: When I was younger, I had
strange experiences
, short but memorable, of being nothing, just nothing, yet fully conscious.
In fact, it was only in the beginning when I was making efforts, that I was passing through some
strange experiences
; seeing lights, hearing voices, meeting gods and goddesses and conversing with them.
M: No doubt, a drug that can affect your brain can also affect your mind, and give you all the
strange experiences
promised.
subtle_body
Q: Even if I dismiss this body of bones, flesh and blood as not-me, still I remain with the
subtle body
made up of thoughts and feelings, memories and imaginations.
Q: Between the body and pure awareness stands the 'inner organ', antahkarana, the '
subtle body
', the 'mental body', whatever the name.
Just as a whirling mirror converts sunlight into a manifold pattern of streaks and colours, so does the
subtle body
convert the simple light of the shining Self into a diversified world.
What I cannot grasp is how did this
subtle body
arise in the first instance?
Q: The antahkarana, or the '
subtle body
', is it real or unreal?
sun_shines
It is like the moon in daylight -- when the
sun shines
, the moon is hardly visible.
As soon as the mind is ready, the
sun shines
in it.
The window may be closed, or open, the
sun shines
all the time.
When the
sun shines
, colours appear.
supreme_guru
32: Life is the
Supreme Guru
.
Life itself is the
Supreme Guru
; be attentive to its lessons and obedient to its commands.
Questioner: Who is the Guru and who is the
supreme Guru
?
And pure awareness beyond consciousness is the
supreme Guru
.
supreme_reality
But the source of all that is, is the Infinite Possibility, the
Supreme Reality
, which is in you and which throws its power and light and love on every experience.
Q: But you already told me that I am the
Supreme Reality
.
M: Of course you are the
Supreme Reality
!
Q: Well, you told me that I am the
Supreme Reality
.
You may call it God, or Parabrahman, or
Supreme Reality
, but these are names given by the mind.
There is only one Self, the
Supreme Reality
, in which the personal and the impersonal are one.
M: He told me I am the
Supreme Reality
.
To the Indian words like 'direct perception of the
Supreme Reality
' make sense and bring out responses from the very depths of his being.
The
Supreme Reality
manifests itself in innumerable ways.
Q: If I become anything I think myself to be, and I start thinking that I am the
Supreme Reality
, will not my
Supreme Reality
remain a mere idea?
You yourself are God, the
Supreme Reality
.
But, in a way it is the same old search for mother's love, call it God or Atma or
Supreme Reality
.
Q: The
Supreme Reality
(Parabrahman) may be present in all of us.
Don't you see that the
Supreme Reality
is what makes everything possible?
It is only when the observer (vyakta) accepts the person (vyakti) as a projection or manifestation of himself, and, so to say, takes the self into the Self, the duality of 'I' and 'this' goes and in the identity of the outer and the inner the
Supreme Reality
manifests itself.
M: Somebody must tell you about the
Supreme Reality
and the way that leads to it.
Q: Sir, I am an humble seeker, while you are the
Supreme Reality
itself.
My Guru, before he died, told me: Believe me, you are the
Supreme Reality
.
Once the Guru told me: 'You are the
Supreme Reality
', I ceased having visions and trances and became very quiet and simple.
Q: What was the
Supreme Reality
you were supposed to reach?
In the various schools of self-realisation there is so much talk of awareness, that one ends with the impression that awareness itself is the
supreme reality
.
You are the
Supreme Reality
beyond the world and its creator, beyond consciousness and its witness, beyond all assertions and denials.
According to some learned commentators, the Nath Gurus propound that the entire creation is born out of nada (sound), the divine principle, and bindu (light), the physical principle and the
Supreme Reality
from which these two principles emanate is Shiva.
While the chanting of sacred hyms and devotional songs as well as the worship of the idols is a traditional feature of the sect, its teaching emphasises that the
Supreme Reality
can be realised only within the heart.
supreme_self
' He may answer: 'I am the
Supreme Self
'.
But the universal witness, the
Supreme Self
never sleeps and never dies.
The outer self (vyakti) is merely a projection on the body-mind of the inner self (vyakta), which again is only an expression of the
Supreme Self
(avyakta) which is all and none.
supreme_state
Q: Then, how do you know you are in the
supreme state
?
Like a hole in the paper is both in the paper and yet not of paper, so is the
supreme state
in the very centre of consciousness, and yet beyond consciousness.
Q: The fully realised man, spontaneously abiding in the
supreme state
, appears to eat, drink and so on.
What is beyond both, supporting both, is the
supreme state
, a state of utter stillness and silence.
In the
supreme state
, no.
When you see them as one, and go beyond, you are in the
supreme state
.
To go beyond consciousness is the
supreme state
.
Q: You seem to identify rest with the
Supreme State
?
When you demand nothing of the world, nor of God, when you want nothing, seek nothing, expect nothing then the
Supreme State
will come to you uninvited and unexpected!
When all search ceases, it is the
Supreme State
.
Q: Why does the
Supreme State
come and go?
Q: Once the
Supreme State
is reached, can it be shared with others?
M: The
Supreme State
is universal, here and now; everybody already shares in it.
When this awareness turns upon itself, you may call it the
Supreme State
, (turiyatita).
Q: How does one reach the
Supreme State
?
Go beyond, back to your normal, natural,
supreme state
.
It is through grasping the full import of the 'I am', and going beyond it to its source, that one can realise the
supreme state
, which is also the primordial and the ultimate.
teacher_told
M: My
teacher told
me to hold on to the sense 'I am' tenaciously and not to swerve from it even for a moment.
My
teacher told
me that the reality is within me; I looked within and found it there, exactly as my
teacher told
me.
thousand_years
Questioner: A
thousand years
ago a man lived and died.
You will find a variety of experiences which you would not be able to go through in a
thousand years
.
M: It may take a
thousand years
, but really no time is required.
Ten
thousand years
earlier, or later, make no difference -- the event itself is timeless.
It was the same ten
thousand years
ago.
The discussions held and teachings given would have been the same ten
thousand years
ago and will be the same ten
thousand years
hence.
three_gunas
Q: The
three gunas
, sattva--rajas--tamas, are they only in matter, or also in the mind?
The
three Gunas
play eternally against each other -- it is a fact and there can be no quarrel with a fact.
But if you want a world, you must accept the
three gunas
as inseparable -- matter -- energy -- life -- one in essence, distinct in appearance.
three_states
But a jnani is aware of himself as neither conscious nor unconscious, but purely aware, a witness to the
three states
of the mind and their contents.
The
three states
are only varieties of the dream state.
The
three states
of waking, dreaming and sleeping are not me and I am not in them.
M: The
three states
rotate as usual -- there is waking and sleeping and waking again, but they do not happen to me.
All the
three states
-- of waking, dreaming and sleeping -- are subjective, personal, intimate.
But the fundamental reality is beyond awareness, beyond the
three states
of becoming, being and not-being.
The
three states
-- sleeping, dreaming and waking are all in consciousness, the manifested; what you call unconsciousness will also be manifested -- in time; beyond consciousness altogether lies the unmanifested.
Questioner: Do you experience the
three states
of waking, dreaming and sleeping just as we do, or otherwise?
Maharaj: All the
three states
are sleep to me.
The
three states
are essentially a case of mistaken self-identification with the body.
timeless_being
You are
timeless being
and awareness.
I am
timeless being
.
Timeless being
is entirely in the now.
Find your
timeless being
and your action will bear it testimony.
The Nisarga Yoga, the 'natural' Yoga of Maharaj, is disconcertingly simple -- the mind, which is all- becoming, must recognise and penetrate its own being, not as being this or that, here or there, then or now, but just as
timeless being
.
This
timeless being
is the source of both life and consciousness.
timeless_reality
It is what is -- the
timeless reality
, unbelievably hard and solid.
The search is the ultimate and
timeless reality
.
the succession of transient moments creates the illusion of time, but the
timeless reality
of pure being is not in movement, for all movement requires a motionless background.
You will soon discover the
timeless reality
behind it.
timeless_source
I talk only of the
timeless source
of all the gods with all their universes, past, present and future.
Time can bring down mountains; much more you, who are the
timeless source
of time.
This
timeless source
of conscious being is what Maharaj calls the self-nature, self-being, swarupa.
timeless_state
It is a
timeless state
, ever present.
Q: You say you are in a
timeless state
.
In the
timeless state
there is no self to take refuge in.
It is a
timeless state
.
Q: If it is a
timeless state
, it will assert itself anyhow.
timelessly_present
Try the other way: indifferent to pain and pleasure, neither asking, nor refusing, give all your attention to the level on which 'I am' is
timelessly present
.
Because reality is
timelessly present
, the stress is on the necessary conditions.
M: You are never without a Guru, for he is
timelessly present
in your heart.
true_being
When, through my faith in my teacher and obedience to his words, I realised my
true being
, I left behind my human nature to look after itself, until its destiny is exhausted.
It dissolves you and thus re- asserts your
true being
.
For this you must know your own
true being
(swarupa) as indomitable, fearless, ever victorious.
A selfish man turns religious, controls himself, refines his thoughts and feelings, takes to spiritual practice, realises his
true being
.
The obstacles to the clear perception of one's
true being
are desire for pleasure and fear of pain.
Q: Reality is described as
true being
, pure consciousness, infinite bliss.
Meditate on it as your
true being
and try to be it in your daily life, and you shall realise it in its fullness.
The seeker has only one goal in view: to find his own
true being
.
This freedom from attachment does not come with practice; it is natural, when one knows one's
true being
.
Q: We are told that various Yogic powers arise spontaneously in a man who has realised his own
true being
.
Q: If my
true being
is always with me, how is it that I am ignorant of it?
Can you give a man character, based on full realisation of his duties and opportunities at least, if not on the insight into his
true being
?
M: When you know your
true being
, you have no problems.
First return to your
true being
and then act from the heart of love.
It is deeply involved in its own affairs and is completely ignorant of its
true being
.
Your
true being
is entirely un-self-conscious, completely free from all self-identification with whatever it may be, gross, subtle or transcendental.
Distrust those who put a distance between you and your
true being
and offer themselves as a go-between.
When you reach the deep layers of your
true being
, you will find that the mind's surface-play affects you very little.
true_guru
83: The
True Guru
.
The
true Guru
will never humiliate you, nor will he estrange you from yourself.
Please state clearly -- can one realise the Self without a Guru, or is the finding of a
true Guru
essential?
But whether he is my
true Guru
I do not know.
true_happiness
M:
True happiness
cannot be found in things that change and pass away.
True happiness
is spontaneous and effortless.
As the acceptance of pain is the denial of the self, and the self stands in the way of
true happiness
, the wholehearted acceptance of pain releases the springs of happiness.
The urge to be happy is right, but the means of securing it are misleading, unreliable and destructive of
true happiness
.
True happiness
is uncaused and this cannot disappear for lack of stimulation.
All I can say is that
true happiness
has no cause and what has no cause is immovable.
true_knowledge
Q: The
true knowledge
of the self.
M: The
true knowledge
of the self is not a knowledge.
Q: Can there be
true knowledge
of things?
To know that nothing is is
true knowledge
.
76: To Know that You do not Know, is
True Knowledge
.
To know that you do not know and do not understand is
true knowledge
, the knowledge of an humble heart.
88: Knowledge by the Mind, is not
True Knowledge
.
M: Do not try to know the truth, for knowledge by the mind is not
true knowledge
.
True knowledge
is ever fresh, new, unexpected.
true_nature
Higher knowledge, knowledge of Reality, is inherent in man's
true nature
.
Once the
true nature
of love and sex is understood there will be no conflict or confusion.
Attention, alertness, awareness, clarity, liveliness, vitality, are all manifestations of integrity, oneness with your
true nature
(sattva).
It is in the nature of sattva to reconcile and neutralise tamas and rajas and rebuild the personality in accordance with the
true nature
of the self.
If you want to know your
true nature
, you must have yourself in mind all the time, until the secret of your being stands revealed.
Let your
true nature
emerge.
As I told you already, my Guru showed me my
true nature
-- and the
true nature
of the world.
After all, what prevents the insight into one's
true nature
is the weakness and obtuseness of the mind and its tendency to skip the subtle and focus on the gross only.
It took me only three years to realise my
true nature
.
As you dive deep into yourself in search of your
true nature
, you will discover that only your body is small and only your memory is short; while the vast ocean of life is yours.
The desire to be is the strongest of all desires and will go only on the realisation of your
true nature
.
Questioner: Before one can realise one's
true nature
need not one be a person?
Also, ignorance of the
true nature
of things, of their causes and effects.
realise that your
true nature
is that of pure light only, and both the perceived and the perceiver come and go together.
M: Knowing is a reflection of your
true nature
along with being and loving.
Take note of the peculiar nature of pure awareness, its natural self-identity, without the least trace of self-consciousness, and go to the root of it and you will soon realise that awareness is your
true nature
and nothing you may be aware of, you can call your own.
It cannot be done, it happens when you realise your
true nature
.
M: Yes, provided by righteousness you mean harmony with one's
true nature
and by action -- only unselfish and desireless action.
Brush off the dust before it has time to settle; this will lay bare the old layers until the
true nature
of your mind is discovered.
To believe that you depend on things and people for happiness is due to ignorance of your
true nature
; to know that you need nothing to be happy, except self-knowledge, is wisdom.
realise once for all that neither your body nor your mind, nor even your consciousness is yourself and stand alone in your
true nature
beyond consciousness and unconsciousness.
true_self
The Bhogi worships at many altars; the Yogi serves none but his own
true Self
.
You people do not know how much you miss by not knowing your own
true self
.
That which you are, your
true self
, you love it, and whatever you do, you do for your own happiness.
The mind must come to know the
true self
and respect it and cease covering it up, like the moon which obscures the sun during solar eclipse.
Engrossed in a dream you have forgotten your
true self
.
Now, the question is are there two in us, the personal and the individual, the false self and the
true self
, or is it only a simile?
two_aspects
M: Consciousness and the world appear and disappear together, hence they are
two aspects
of the same state.
M: When life and death are seen as essential to each other, as
two aspects
of one being, that is immortality.
Consciousness and unconsciousness are
two aspects
of one life.
M: Because they are but
two aspects
of the same state.
They are the
two aspects
of the nameless, as seen from without and from within.
Chaos and cosmos: are they not
two aspects
of the same state?
Awareness -- mind -- matter -- they are one reality in its
two aspects
as immovable and movable, and the three attributes of inertia, energy and harmony.
The five senses and the four functions of the mind -- memory, thought, understanding and selfhood; the five elements -- earth, water, fire, air and ether; the
two aspects
of creation -- matter and spirit, all are contained in awareness.
ultimate_cause
Once you admit a cause, then God is the
ultimate cause
and the world the effect.
Yet you cannot blame the sun for all that happens, though it is the
ultimate cause
.
The
ultimate cause
is untraceable.
You just are -- a point of awareness, co-extensive with time and space and beyond both, the
ultimate cause
, itself uncaused.
ultimate_purpose
The
ultimate purpose
is to reach the source of life and consciousness.
The
ultimate purpose
will be served in any case.
After all, the
ultimate purpose
of all sadhana is to reach a point, when this conviction, instead of being only verbal, is based on the actual and ever-present experience.
ultimate_state
To be a living being is not the
ultimate state
; there is something beyond, much more wonderful, which is neither being nor non- being, neither living nor notliving.
Q: In the
ultimate state
there can be no happiness?
M: Yours may not be the
ultimate state
.
understand_yourself
Just
understand yourself
-- that itself is eternity.
If you feel more at peace and happy, if you
understand yourself
with more than usual clarity and depth, it means you have met the right man.
The effort to
understand yourself
is Yoga.
undervalue_attention
31: Do not
Undervalue Attention
.
M: Do not
undervalue attention
.
united_states
Now we are on our way back to the
United States
.
Our son is leaving for the
United States
and we came to see him off.
Questioner: I am from the
United States
, but I live mostly in Europe.
Questioner: I was born in the
United States
, and the last fourteen months I have spent in Sri Ramanashram; now I am on my way back to the States where my mother is expecting me.
Q: I have some property in the
United States
which I intend to sell and buy some land in the Himalayas.
We can see them with great clarity in the
United States
, though they happen in other countries.
universal_being
Q: It is all very tempting, but how am I to proceed to realise my
universal being
?
Once the conviction: 'I am not the body' becomes so well grounded that he can no longer feel, think and act for and on behalf of the body, he will easily discover that he is the
universal being
, knowing, acting, that in him and through him the entire universe is real, conscious and active.
Q: What you call pure being is it
universal being
, being everything?
universal_body
The entire creation is your
universal body
.
But you have also a
universal body
.
Q: Even If I accept your doctrine of the
universal body
as a working theory, in what way can I test it and of what use is it to me?
universal_consciousness
I saw that in the ocean of pure awareness, on the surface of the
universal consciousness
, the numberless waves of the phenomenal worlds arise and subside beginninglessly and endlessly.
M: That in which consciousness happens, the
universal consciousness
or mind, we call the ether of consciousness.
Either you are body-conscious and a slave of circumstances, or you are the
universal consciousness
itself -- and in full control of every event.
Concepts like Self, Reality, pure mind,
universal consciousness
the Indian mind grasps easily.
All is a momentary appearance in the field of the
universal consciousness
; continuity as name and form is a mental formation only, easy to dispel.
universal_mind
Between lies the
universal mind
(chidakash) which is also the universal heart (premakash).
When a jnani joins the
universal mind
, all his goodness and wisdom become the heritage of humanity and uplift every human being.
Q: Yet the power to help is there and there is somebody or something that displays that power, call it God or Self or the
Universal Mind
.
The totality of all perceivers is what you call the
universal mind
.
M: The
Universal Mind
(chidakash) makes and unmakes everything.
In the ocean of the
universal mind
all knowledge is contained; it is yours on demand.
universal_power
I am the source of them all, the
universal power
by which the world with its bewildering diversity becomes manifest.
M: There is a
universal power
which is in control and is responsible.
Q: And so, I can do as I like and put the blame on some
universal power
?
Q: What I do not like in all this is taking refuge in some
universal power
.
universal_witness
M: He is the Supreme, of course, but he can also be viewed as the
universal witness
.
But the
universal witness
, the Supreme Self never sleeps and never dies.
I cannot say that I am in God or I am God; God is the universal light and love, the
universal witness
: I am beyond the universal even.
We hear the expression --
universal witness
.
universe_becomes
The more you are able to understand, the more the
universe becomes
satisfactory, emotionally and mentally.
In that sense the entire
universe becomes
a school of Yoga (yogakshetra).
The central point is no more and the
universe becomes
the centre.
vicious_circle
It is a
vicious circle
.
A truly
vicious circle
!
It is a
vicious circle
.
It is a
vicious circle
.
Again we are in the
vicious circle
-- without perfect faith -- no salvation, without salvation -- no perfect faith, hence no salvation.
Investigate the
vicious circle
till you find yourself beyond it.
waking_hours
By eliminating the intervals of inadvertence during your
waking hours
you will gradually eliminate the long interval of absent-mindedness, which you call sleep.
M: During your
waking hours
are you continually self-conscious?
Q: Yes, I admit that on my own terms I am a person only during my
waking hours
.
Since you pretend not to be conscious in the intervals between the
waking hours
, leave the intervals alone.
Let us consider the
waking hours
only.
After all, you must remember, that all your preoccupations with yourself are only in your
waking hours
and partly in your dreams; in sleep all is put aside and forgotten.
During the
waking hours
you are, as if, on the stage, playing a role, but what are you when the play is over?
waking_state
M: Before you make such sweeping statements, examine carefully your
waking state
.
M: Echoes of the
waking state
.
Consciousness is most differentiated in the
waking state
.
Q: From the daily
waking state
, in which alone all these discussions take place.
M: In the
waking state
all these problems arise, for such is its nature.
In what way does it help you to know that things are causally related -- as they may appear to be in your
waking state
?
Q: The world and the
waking state
emerge and subside together.
M: When the mind is still, absolutely silent, the
waking state
is no more.
Henceforward, when we talk of the
waking state
, we shall include the dream state too.
All these ideas belong to the
waking state
.
Q: What brings in the
waking state
?
M: How to describe the
waking state
in dreamland language?
We do not wake up into a really
waking state
.
In the
waking state
the world emerges due to ignorance and takes one into a waking-dream state.
Q: Just as the
waking state
exists in seed form during sleep, so does the world the child creates on being born exist before its birth.
This is your
waking state
-- your consciousness shifts from sensation to sensation, from perception to perception, from idea to idea, in endless succession.
M: Nor can the
waking state
.
M: You do not realise that your present
waking state
is one of ignorance.
However much you are convinced of the truth of your
waking state
, you do not claim it to be permanent and changeless, as I do when I talk of mine.
A drink, a smoke, a fever, a drug, breathing, singing, shaking, dancing, whirling, praying, sex or fasting, mantras or some vertiginous abstraction can dislodge me from my
waking state
and give me some experience, extraordinary because unfamiliar.
Now you are in the
waking state
, a person with name and shape, joys and sorrows.
Instead of struggling with the person to make it become what it is not, why not go beyond the
waking state
and leave the personal life altogether?
Q: Is the
waking state
more important for spiritual practice than sleep?
M: On the whole we attach too much importance, to the
waking state
.
Without sleep the
waking state
would be impossible; without sleep one goes mad or dies; why attach so much importance to waking consciousness, which is obviously dependent on the unconscious?
My
waking state
is beyond them.
Q: Your working theory seems to be that the
waking state
is not basically different from dream and the dreamless sleep.
First realise that your problem exists in your
waking state
only, that however painful it is, you are able to forget it altogether when you go to sleep.
The
waking state
differs from deep sleep in the presence of the witness.
want_nothing
You
want nothing
, neither-from your body nor from your mind.
What is it to me, since I
want nothing
?
To
want nothing
and do nothing -- that is true creation!
M: The desire to find the self will be surely fulfilled, provided you
want nothing
else.
But you must be honest with yourself and really
want nothing
else.
I am dead to the world, I
want nothing
, not even to live.
When you demand nothing of the world, nor of God, when you
want nothing
, seek nothing, expect nothing then the Supreme State will come to you uninvited and unexpected!
Please see that I
want nothing
from you.
To be open means to
want nothing
else.
I found myself desiring and knowing less and less, until I could say in utter astonishment: 'I know nothing, I
want nothing
.
To
want nothing
of it, to be ready to abandon it entirely, is earnestness.
want_peace
You
want peace
, love, happiness and work hard to create pain, hatred and war.
If you
want peace
, deserve it.
If you
want peace
and harmony in the world, you must have peace and harmony in your hearts and minds.
You
want peace
and harmony in the world, but refuse to have them in yourself.
If you
want peace
you must strive for it.
wants_nothing
Only God's energy is infinite -- because He
wants nothing
for Himself.
He
wants nothing
-- neither from others nor from himself.
Q: I am told that the man who
wants nothing
for himself is all-powerful.
watch_yourself
You must
watch yourself
continuously -- particularly your mind -- moment by moment, missing nothing.
And to know what you are not you must
watch yourself
carefully, rejecting all that does not necessarily go with the basic fact: 'I am'.
M: To know that you are neither body nor mind,
watch yourself
steadily and live unaffected by your body and mind, completely aloof, as if you were dead.
When you sit quiet and
watch yourself
, all kinds of things may come to the surface.
Watch your thoughts and
watch yourself
watching the thoughts.
M:
Watch yourself
.
Watch yourself
closely and you will see that whatever be the content of consciousness, the witnessing of it does not depend on the content.
M: Keep the 'I am' in the focus of awareness, remember that you are,
watch yourself
ceaselessly and the unconscious will flow into the conscious without any special effort on your part.
whatever_happens
Whatever happens
, I must be there to witness it.
One can function rightly, responding well and fully to
whatever happens
, without having to bring it into the focus of awareness.
M:
Whatever happens
, it happens to you.
M:
Whatever happens
in your world, only there it has validity and evokes response.
Whatever happens
, does not affect me -- things act on things, that is all.
Whatever happens
-- happens.
Simply look at
whatever happens
and know that you are beyond it.
Whatever happens
on the stage makes him shudder in terror or roll with laughter, yet all the time he is aware that it is but a show.
Whatever happens
, I remain.
All you can do is to grasp the central point, that reality is not an event and does not happen and
whatever happens
, whatever comes and goes, is not reality.
Go beyond, go back to the source, go to the self that is the same
whatever happens
.
Whatever happens
, remind yourself that only your body and mind are affected, not yourself.
Use every opportunity to remind yourself that you are in bondage, that
whatever happens
to you is due to the fact of your bodily existence.
Yet,
whatever happens
, points to your existence as a perceiving centre.
Remember to remember: '
whatever happens
-- happens because I am'.
Whatever happens
, you cannot kick and scream in an airline office or in a Bank.
For
whatever happens
, all the universe is responsible and you are the source of the universe.
Be aware that
whatever happens
, happens to you, by you, through you, that you are the creator, enjoyer and destroyer of all you perceive and you will not be afraid.
At every moment,
whatever happens
now, is for the best.
wise_man
So is the
wise man
(jnani) stripped of all his powers and possessions.
The
wise man
is not anxious to use such powers, except when the situation calls for them.
The
wise man
counts nothing as his own.
without_awareness
There can be no consciousness
without awareness
, but there can be awareness without consciousness, as in deep sleep.
Without awareness
, the body would not last a second.
Similarly,
without awareness
there would be no consciousness, nor life, which transforms matter into a vehicle of consciousness.
without_being
Can there be the sense of 'I am'
without being
somebody or other?
I find myself talking to people, or doing things quite correctly and appropriately,
without being
very much conscious of them.
Q: So a jnani knows what he is doing only when he turns his mind to it; otherwise he just acts,
without being
concerned.
You may be engaged in several directions and work with enormous zest, yet remain inwardly free and quiet, with a mirror-like mind, which reflects all,
without being
affected.
Separate consistently and perseveringly the 'I am' from 'this' or 'that', and try to feel what it means to be, just to be,
without being
'this' or 'that'.
Once you have known pure being,
without being
this or that, you will discern it among experiences and you will no longer be misled by names and forms.
You are merely watching what happens,
without being
able to influence it in any way.
It is pure awareness of being,
without being
this or that, without any self-identification with anything in particular, or in general.
Q: Does every knower of the Self become a Guru, or can one be a knower of Reality
without being
able to take others to it?
No ordinary brain can stand it
without being
shattered; hence the absolute need for sadhana.
without_cause
Things happen
without cause
and reason and, after all, what does it matter, who is who?
You imagine that
without cause
there can be no happiness.
Q: How can anything be
without cause
?
The state which sprouts suddenly and
without cause
, carries no stain of self; you may call it 'god'.
Because it is
without cause
, it is without hindrance.
without_changing
You cannot change the image
without changing
the face.
After announcing that his end was nearing, he stopped eating,
without changing
the routine of his daily life.
M: The body appears in your mind, your mind is the content of your consciousness; you are the motionless witness of the river of consciousness which changes eternally
without changing
you in any way.
without_conviction
Q: I do not see how one can begin
without conviction
.
Q: Where am I to get the courage to act
without conviction
?
Q: Even when we act
without conviction
?
without_death
Can there be renewal
without death
?
Without death
we would have been bogged up for ever in eternal senility.
Without death
life cannot be.
without_desire
Without desire
for freedom of what use is the confidence that you can acquire freedom?
Stand
without desire
and fear, relinquishing all control and all responsibility.
Q: Do you mean to say that
without desire
there can be no consciousness?
Without desire
or fear he enjoys it, as it happens.
It is lucid, silent, peaceful, alert and unafraid,
without desire
and fear.
Without desire
you are dead.
M: There can be no experience
without desire
for it.
M: The Guru is basically
without desire
.
Look at it
without desire
or fear and it does lose substance.
Q:
Without desire
and fear what motive is there for action?
without_knowing
Can you exist
without knowing
?
Of your personal universe you are the centre --
without knowing
the centre what else can you know?
If I am blind from birth and you tell me that you know things without touching them, while I must touch to know, I am aware that I am blind
without knowing
what does it mean to see.
There are so many things you are doing
without knowing
how to do it.
You digest, you circulate your blood and lymph, you move your muscles -- all
without knowing
how.
In the same way, you perceive, you feel, you think
without knowing
the why and how of it.
Similarly you are yourself
without knowing
it.
M: The mind covers up reality,
without knowing
it.
I may talk of truth
without knowing
it, and may know it without a single word said.
M: You are really in search of yourself,
without knowing
it.
We sin
without knowing
and suffer without understanding.
You are never left
without knowing
what your next step should be.
One can only be it,
without knowing
, but one can know what it is not.
without_love
Q: There is so much sex
without love
.
M:
Without love
all is evil.
Life itself
without love
is evil.
Without love
, and will inspired by love, nothing can be done.
Without love
and trust there would have been no Guru nor disciple, and no relationship between them.
For nothing can be done
without love
.
without_memory
M: And
without memory
, what are you?
Without memory
I cannot exist as a person.
M: Surely you can exist
without memory
.
Can you talk of identity
without memory
?
Q:
Without memory
you cannot be conscious.
The foundation of things is in memory --
without memory
there would be no recognition.
For
without memory
and expectation there can be no time.
without_self
M: To live
without self
-concern.
Without self
-realisation, no virtue is genuine.
This again is not possible
without self
-realisation.
witness_attitude
41: Develop the
Witness Attitude
.
M: Develop the
witness attitude
and you will find in your own experience that detachment brings control.
M: The
witness attitude
is also faith; it is faith in oneself.
witness_remains
Your personality dissolves and only the
witness remains
.
Q: The person goes and only the
witness remains
.
When the body is no more, the person disappears completely without return, only the
witness remains
and the Great Unknown.
witnessing_consciousness
Q: There is the witnessed consciousness and there is the
witnessing consciousness
.
Q: You speak of the mind, of the
witnessing consciousness
beyond the mind and of the Supreme, which is beyond awareness.
Unless the
witnessing consciousness
begins to play on the person and it becomes the object of observation rather than the subject, realisation is not feasible.
world_appears
In pure being consciousness arises; in consciousness the
world appears
and disappears.
M: Within the prison of your
world appears
a man who tells you that the world of painful contradictions, which you have created, is neither continuous nor permanent and is based on a misapprehension.
In that light the
world appears
dimly like a dream.
To you, you get born and die, while to me, the
world appears
and disappears.
M: Find to whom this cruel
world appears
and you will know why it appears so cruel.
When you know yourself as a centre of consciousness, the
world appears
as the ocean of the mind.
The
world appears
to you so overwhelmingly real, because you think of it all the time; cease thinking of it and it will dissolve into thin mist.
wrong_ideas
Devotion to you goal makes you live a clean and orderly life, given to search for truth and to helping people, and realisation makes noble virtue easy and spontaneous, by removing for good the obstacles in the shape of desires and fears and
wrong ideas
.
Only what liberates you from desire and fear and
wrong ideas
is good.
It is all appearance, due to
wrong ideas
.
It is the mind bewildered by
wrong ideas
, addicted to thinking: 'I am this' 'I am that', that fears loss and craves gain and suffers when frustrated.
Problems created by desires and fears and
wrong ideas
can be solved only on the level of the mind.
Get rid of
wrong ideas
, that is all.
Take care of the mind first, by tracing and eliminating all
wrong ideas
and emotions.
M:
Wrong ideas
and desires leading to wrong actions, causing dissipation and weakness of mind and body.
Remove and abandon your
wrong ideas
about yourself and there it is, in all its glory.
Abandon the
wrong ideas
, for they are false and obstruct your vision of yourself.
yourself_beyond
The way leads through
yourself beyond
yourself.
Be interested in
yourself beyond
all experience, be with yourself, love yourself; the ultimate security is found only in self-knowledge.
The answer is obvious -- first put
yourself beyond
the need of help.
Cease to be the object and become the subject of all that happens; once having turned within, you will find
yourself beyond
the subject.
Investigate the vicious circle till you find
yourself beyond
it.