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My wife had met Maharaji and had come to get me in America to bring me back to meet him. When we first went to see Maharaji I was put off by what I saw. All these crazy Westerners wearing white clothes and hanging around this fat old man in a blanket! More than anything else I hated seeing Westerners touch his feet. On my first day there he totally ignored me. But after the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh day, during which he also ignored me, I began to grow very upset. I felt no love for him; in fact, I felt nothing. I decided that my wife had been captured by some crazy cult. By the end of the week I was ready to leave.
We were staying at the hotel up in Nainital, and on the eighth day I told my wife that I wasn’t feeling well. I spent the day walking around the lake thinking that if my wife was so involved in something that was clearly not for me, it must mean that our marriage was at an end. I looked at the flowers, the mountains, and the reflections in the lake, but nothing could dispel my depression. And then I did something that I had really never done in my adult life. I prayed.
I asked God, “What am I doing here? Who is this man? These people are all crazy. I just don’t belong here.” Just then I remembered the phrase, “Had ye but faith ye would not need miracles”
“Okay, God, I don’t have any faith. Send me a miracle.” I kept looking for a rainbow but nothing happened, so I decided to leave the next day.
The next morning we took a taxi down to Kainchi to the temple, to say goodbye. Although I didn’t like Maharaji, I thought I’d just be very honest and have it out with him. We got to Kainchi before anyone else was there and we sat in front of his tucket on the porch. Maharaji had not yet come out from inside the room. There was some fruit on the tucket and one of the apples had fallen on the ground, so I bent over to pick it up. Just then Maharaji came out of his room and stepped on my hand, pinning me to the ground. So there I was on my knees touching his foot, in that position I detested. How ludicrous! He looked down at me and asked, “Where were you yesterday?” Then he asked, “Were you at the lake?” (He said “lake” in English). When he said the word “lake” to me I began to get this strange feeling at the base of my spine, and my whole body tingled. It felt very strange. He asked me, “What were you doing at the lake?”
I began to feel very tight. Then he asked, “Were you horseback riding?”
“No.”
“Were you boating?”
“No.”
“Did you go swimming?”
“No.”
Then he leaned over and spoke quietly, “Were you talking to God? Did you ask for something?”
When he did that I fell apart and started to cry like a baby. He pulled me over and started pulling my beard and repeating, “Did you ask for something?” That really felt like my initiation. By then others had arrived and they were around me, caressing me, and I realized then that almost everyone there had gone through some experience like that. A trivial question such as, “Were you at the lake yesterday?” which had no meaning to anyone else, shattered my perception of reality. It was clear to me that Maharaji saw right through all the illusions; he knew everything. By the way, the next thing he said to me was, “Will you write a book?”
That was my welcome. After that I just wanted to rub his feet.”
- Dr. Larry Brilliant
Excerpt from Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba
We were staying at the hotel up in Nainital, and on the eighth day I told my wife that I wasn’t feeling well. I spent the day walking around the lake thinking that if my wife was so involved in something that was clearly not for me, it must mean that our marriage was at an end. I looked at the flowers, the mountains, and the reflections in the lake, but nothing could dispel my depression. And then I did something that I had really never done in my adult life. I prayed.
I asked God, “What am I doing here? Who is this man? These people are all crazy. I just don’t belong here.” Just then I remembered the phrase, “Had ye but faith ye would not need miracles”
“Okay, God, I don’t have any faith. Send me a miracle.” I kept looking for a rainbow but nothing happened, so I decided to leave the next day.
The next morning we took a taxi down to Kainchi to the temple, to say goodbye. Although I didn’t like Maharaji, I thought I’d just be very honest and have it out with him. We got to Kainchi before anyone else was there and we sat in front of his tucket on the porch. Maharaji had not yet come out from inside the room. There was some fruit on the tucket and one of the apples had fallen on the ground, so I bent over to pick it up. Just then Maharaji came out of his room and stepped on my hand, pinning me to the ground. So there I was on my knees touching his foot, in that position I detested. How ludicrous! He looked down at me and asked, “Where were you yesterday?” Then he asked, “Were you at the lake?” (He said “lake” in English). When he said the word “lake” to me I began to get this strange feeling at the base of my spine, and my whole body tingled. It felt very strange. He asked me, “What were you doing at the lake?”
I began to feel very tight. Then he asked, “Were you horseback riding?”
“No.”
“Were you boating?”
“No.”
“Did you go swimming?”
“No.”
Then he leaned over and spoke quietly, “Were you talking to God? Did you ask for something?”
When he did that I fell apart and started to cry like a baby. He pulled me over and started pulling my beard and repeating, “Did you ask for something?” That really felt like my initiation. By then others had arrived and they were around me, caressing me, and I realized then that almost everyone there had gone through some experience like that. A trivial question such as, “Were you at the lake yesterday?” which had no meaning to anyone else, shattered my perception of reality. It was clear to me that Maharaji saw right through all the illusions; he knew everything. By the way, the next thing he said to me was, “Will you write a book?”
That was my welcome. After that I just wanted to rub his feet.”
- Dr. Larry Brilliant
Excerpt from Miracle of Love: Stories about Neem Karoli Baba
Under the obsessive thoughts and plans, under the emotions, positive and negative, there is an ocean of peace.
During worldly activity, if your attention is fixed on the fundamental reality, there is no difficulty. But ordinary people forget the reality and take the name alone to be real. The different "I"'s are not real. There is only one 'I'. The separate "I" is like a watchman in a fort. He is like the protector of the body. The real owner in everybody is only the one real 'I'. So, when the separate "I" surrenders to the real "I" , then, [because the idea of a separate self who 'owns' the body disappears] , "I" and 'mine' are eliminated. The true state comes into existence when, after sorting out what belongs to whom, the ego "I" surrenders itself to the real owner.
Absence of thought does not mean a blank.
There must be someone to be aware of that blank. Knowledge and ignorance pertain only to the mind and are in duality, but the Self is beyond them both. It is pure Light.
There is no need for one Self to see another.
There are no two selves.
What is not the Self is mere non-self and cannot see the Self. The Self has no sight or hearing; it lies beyond them, all alone, as pure Consciousness.
There must be someone to be aware of that blank. Knowledge and ignorance pertain only to the mind and are in duality, but the Self is beyond them both. It is pure Light.
There is no need for one Self to see another.
There are no two selves.
What is not the Self is mere non-self and cannot see the Self. The Self has no sight or hearing; it lies beyond them, all alone, as pure Consciousness.
Everybody speaks to you of the past. Do you find anyone among your friends and relations who is speaking of the present? Everyone speaks to you of the past; therefore it has become very strong. You will have to seek out the company of those who speak to you of the present moment, then this will also become much stronger and you will shun the company of the past. To get rid of the past keep company with those who are trying to live in, or who have tasted this moment of present, who are speaking about this present life. Satsang means association with those who live in Truth. Here everyone is speaking everyday of this present moment, of peace and love and happiness.
What is the beauty in the human face, in the sky, in the stars, and in the moon? It is only the partial apprehension of the real all-embracing Divine Beauty. `He shining, everything shines. It is through His light that all things shine.’ Take this high position of Bhakti which makes you forget at once all your little personalities. Take yourself away from all the world's little selfish clingings. Do not look upon humanity as the centre of all your human and higher interests. Stand as a witness, as a student, and observe the phenomena of nature. Have the feeling of personal non-attachment with regard to man, and see how this mighty feeling of love is working itself out in the world.
So long as one desires liberation, so long, you may take it, one is in bondage.
Here is Bhagavan’s brief account of how he resolved this question during his ego-death experience in 1896 in Madurai.
When I scrutinised within the mind ‘Who is the seer?’ the seer became non-existent and I saw that which remained. The mind does not [now] rise to say ‘I saw’; how [therefore] can the mind rise to say ‘I did not see’. (Arunachala Ashtakam, verse two, tr. Sadhu Om)
Questioning ‘Who am I?’ within one’s mind, when one reaches the Heart the individual ‘I’ sinks crestfallen, and at once reality manifests itself as ‘I-I’. Though it reveals itself thus, it is not the ego ‘I’, but the perfect being, the Self Absolute. (Ulladu Narpadu, verse 30)
‘Whence does this ‘I’ arise? Seek this within. This ‘I’ then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. Where the ‘I’ vanished, there appears an ‘I-I’ by itself. This is the infinite [poornam]. (Upadesa Undiyar, verses 19 and 20).
When I scrutinised within the mind ‘Who is the seer?’ the seer became non-existent and I saw that which remained. The mind does not [now] rise to say ‘I saw’; how [therefore] can the mind rise to say ‘I did not see’. (Arunachala Ashtakam, verse two, tr. Sadhu Om)
Questioning ‘Who am I?’ within one’s mind, when one reaches the Heart the individual ‘I’ sinks crestfallen, and at once reality manifests itself as ‘I-I’. Though it reveals itself thus, it is not the ego ‘I’, but the perfect being, the Self Absolute. (Ulladu Narpadu, verse 30)
‘Whence does this ‘I’ arise? Seek this within. This ‘I’ then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. Where the ‘I’ vanished, there appears an ‘I-I’ by itself. This is the infinite [poornam]. (Upadesa Undiyar, verses 19 and 20).
At present we are conscious of ourselves as a set of adjuncts with object knowing consciousness in which our attention seemingly move away from the self towards the object with separation between knowing subject and known object. In self-enquiry we withdraw our attention from thoughts and objects so that attention rests in self without any oscillation. To posit our attention in this state is the aim of self-enquiry.
All the activities that the body is to go through are determined when it first comes into existence, it does not rest with you to accept or reject them. The only freedom you have is to turn your mind inward and renounce activities there.
Before any thought, sensation or perception tells us anything about a mind, body or world, it first announces the presence of Awareness in which it appears, with which it is known and, ultimately, out of which it is made. As such, all experience shines with the light of Awareness.
Just as a screen is intimately one with all images and, at the same time, free of them, so our true nature of luminous, empty Knowing is one with all experiences and yet, at the same time, inherently free of them.
Self is what you are. You are That Fathomlessness in which experience and concepts appear.
Self is the Moment that has no coming or going. It is the Heart, Atman, Emptiness.
It shines to Itself, by Itself, in Itself.
Self is the Moment that has no coming or going. It is the Heart, Atman, Emptiness.
It shines to Itself, by Itself, in Itself.
Gradually the obstacles are all overcome and your current becomes stronger. Everything comes right in the end. Steady determination is what is required.
Don't talk of means, there are no means. What you see as false, dissolves. It is the very nature of illusion to dissolve on investigation. Investigate - that is all. You cannot destroy the false, for you are creating it all the time. Withdraw from it, ignore it, go beyond, and it will cease to be.
What it appear to be to you exists only in your mind, by removing all that is of the mind one can see clearly... and your very clarity will release you.
Everything is a mental concept.
Anything that you can think about, anything that you can come up with your mind is a mental concept.
Whether it's God, whether it's the Self or whatever you're thinking about.
Therefore to get to these places you have to stop thinking totally and completely.
Use whatever method to stop the thoughts.
Whatever method that you have.
A method that you're used to.
Use whatever method that you like to stop the thoughts.
By ignoring them, by watching them, by asking,
"To whom do they come?
Who thinks?"
But by all means do something to keep the thoughts from attacking you, from telling you what to do and how to live.
(silence)
Anything that you can think about, anything that you can come up with your mind is a mental concept.
Whether it's God, whether it's the Self or whatever you're thinking about.
Therefore to get to these places you have to stop thinking totally and completely.
Use whatever method to stop the thoughts.
Whatever method that you have.
A method that you're used to.
Use whatever method that you like to stop the thoughts.
By ignoring them, by watching them, by asking,
"To whom do they come?
Who thinks?"
But by all means do something to keep the thoughts from attacking you, from telling you what to do and how to live.
(silence)
The state of being is permanent and the body and the world are not. They are fleeting phenomena passing on the screen of being-consciousness which is eternal and stationary.
The experiencer has to go.
The one who experiences samadhi, the one who experiences higher states of consciousness, has to go, has to be transcended, eliminated.
Therefore, as you practice "Who am I?"
whatever comes to you, you merely observe.
You realize back in your heart, that the observer has to go.
As long as there's somebody there to experience anything, you have not arrived anywhere.
So you continue to practice,
"Who am I?"
and you keep still.
The one who experiences samadhi, the one who experiences higher states of consciousness, has to go, has to be transcended, eliminated.
Therefore, as you practice "Who am I?"
whatever comes to you, you merely observe.
You realize back in your heart, that the observer has to go.
As long as there's somebody there to experience anything, you have not arrived anywhere.
So you continue to practice,
"Who am I?"
and you keep still.
The Bliss of Self is always yours and you will find it if you seek it earnestly.
The cause of your misery is not in your outer life; it is in you, as your ego. You impose limitations on yourself and then make a vain struggle to transcend them.
All unhappiness is due to the ego. With it comes all your trouble.
The cause of your misery is not in your outer life; it is in you, as your ego. You impose limitations on yourself and then make a vain struggle to transcend them.
All unhappiness is due to the ego. With it comes all your trouble.
Thoughts appear and disappear but they are not "mine" so they don't bother me.
Let them come, let them go. What does it matter? They are nothing to do with me.
Let them come, let them go. What does it matter? They are nothing to do with me.
To be calm is the greatest asset in the world.
It's the greatest siddhi, the greatest power you can have.
If you can only learn to be calm you will solve every problem.
This is something you must remember.
When you are perfectly calm, time stops.
There is no time, karma stops, samskaras stop.
Everything becomes null and void.
For when you are calm you are one with the entire energy of the universe and everything will go well with you.
To be calm means you are in control.
You're not worried about the situation, the outcome.
What is going to happen tomorrow.
It's the greatest siddhi, the greatest power you can have.
If you can only learn to be calm you will solve every problem.
This is something you must remember.
When you are perfectly calm, time stops.
There is no time, karma stops, samskaras stop.
Everything becomes null and void.
For when you are calm you are one with the entire energy of the universe and everything will go well with you.
To be calm means you are in control.
You're not worried about the situation, the outcome.
What is going to happen tomorrow.
PRAYERS
They pray to God and finish with: ‘Thy will be done’. If
His will be done, why do they pray at all? It is true that the
Divine will prevails at all times and under all circumstances.
Individuals cannot act of their own accord. Recognise the force
of the Divine will and keep quiet. Everyone is looked after by
God. He created all. You are only one among two thousand
millions. When He looks after so many, will He omit you?
Even common sense dictates that one should accept His will.
There is no need to tell Him your requirements. He knows
them Himself and will look after them.
They pray to God and finish with: ‘Thy will be done’. If
His will be done, why do they pray at all? It is true that the
Divine will prevails at all times and under all circumstances.
Individuals cannot act of their own accord. Recognise the force
of the Divine will and keep quiet. Everyone is looked after by
God. He created all. You are only one among two thousand
millions. When He looks after so many, will He omit you?
Even common sense dictates that one should accept His will.
There is no need to tell Him your requirements. He knows
them Himself and will look after them.
When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate.
Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.
You exist in time, but you belong to eternity. You are a penetration of eternity into the world of time. You are deathless, living in a body of death. Your consciousness knows no death, no birth. It is only your body that is born and dies. But you are not aware of your consciousness. You are not conscious of your consciousness. And that is the whole art of meditation; becoming conscious of consciousness itself.
Beings
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