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We can make our minds so like still water that beings gather around us, that they may see their own images, and so live for a moment with a clearer perhaps even fiercer life because of our quiet.
Psychedelic experience is only a glimpse of genuine mystical insight, but a glimpse which can be matured and deepened by the various ways of meditation in which drugs are no longer necessary or useful. If you get the message, hang up the phone. For psychedelic drugs are simply instruments, like microscopes, telescopes, and telephones. The biologist does not sit with eye permanently glued to the microscope, he goes away and works on what he has seen.
He who sees, speaks not. He who speaks, sees not.
Forgetting everything that has to be obtained either in this world or in the next, enduring perfectly and with patience all the obstacles that come, and not being disheartened by any amount of poverty that comes, live in the way in which God’s Grace leads you.
(GURU VACHAKA KOVAI: 664)
(GURU VACHAKA KOVAI: 664)
A miracle is a shift in perception from fear to Love.
It is easy to imagine that the Buddha, the awakened one, is something or somewhere other than here or that awakening to reality will happen sometime other than now. But as long as we continue to think in terms of time we will deceive ourselves. The "you" who is chasing enlightenment will never become enlightened.
Instead of striving towards some distant goal that you will never reach, I invite you to stop and ask: How am I avoiding the enlightenment that is already present in each moment? How am I seeing separation where it doesn't exist?
Instead of striving towards some distant goal that you will never reach, I invite you to stop and ask: How am I avoiding the enlightenment that is already present in each moment? How am I seeing separation where it doesn't exist?
The only way you will ever awaken is through silence, not through analyzation of facts. Not by sorting out good and bad, but through simple silence, letting go. Letting go of all thoughts, all the hurts, all the dogmas and concepts. Letting go of these things daily.
UPADESA SARAM
The Essence of Instruction
19. When one turns within and searches
Whence this ‘I' thought arises,
The shamed ‘I’ vanishes
And wisdom’s quest begins.
20. Where this ‘I’ notion fades,
Now there as I, as I, arises
The One, the very Self,
The Infinite.
21. Of the term, ‘I’
the permanent import Is ‘That’.
For even in deep sleep
Where we have no sense of ‘I’
We do not cease to be.
The Essence of Instruction
19. When one turns within and searches
Whence this ‘I' thought arises,
The shamed ‘I’ vanishes
And wisdom’s quest begins.
20. Where this ‘I’ notion fades,
Now there as I, as I, arises
The One, the very Self,
The Infinite.
21. Of the term, ‘I’
the permanent import Is ‘That’.
For even in deep sleep
Where we have no sense of ‘I’
We do not cease to be.
I’ll go a hundred steps beyond reason,
Free from the existence of good and evil.
You are so good that I’m beyond the veil.
Let the clueless know: I will love myself.
Free from the existence of good and evil.
You are so good that I’m beyond the veil.
Let the clueless know: I will love myself.
As in the night when the sun is not present, one sees the light in the moon, the man who is not present in the heart, sees merely the mind.
Above all, don't wish to become a future Buddha;
Your only concern should be,
As thought follows thought,
To avoid clinging to any of them.
Your only concern should be,
As thought follows thought,
To avoid clinging to any of them.
When a man tries to extend his power over objects,
those objects gain control of him.
He who is controlled by objects loses possession of his inner Self.
those objects gain control of him.
He who is controlled by objects loses possession of his inner Self.
Question: How is the ego to be destroyed ?
Maharshi: Hold the ego first and then ask how it is to be destroyed. Who asks this question ? It is the ego. Can the ego ever agree to kill itself ? This question is a sure way to cherish the ego and not to kill it. If you seek the ego you will find it does not exist.
That is the way to destroy it.
Maharshi: Hold the ego first and then ask how it is to be destroyed. Who asks this question ? It is the ego. Can the ego ever agree to kill itself ? This question is a sure way to cherish the ego and not to kill it. If you seek the ego you will find it does not exist.
That is the way to destroy it.
S> Does eating a non-vegetarian diet cause the awakening to take longer or prevent it.
R> As far as I’m concerned, it’s morally correct to be a vegetarian.
The quality of the soul becomes purified and you come closer to realization.
Eating meat makes the human body gross and pulls you down to the earth.
That’s why they speak of the three gunas in all spiritual teachings.
Meat eaters have tamasic qualities, which are the lowest qualities of humanhood.
T. 51 Everything Leads To Silence - March 10, 1991
R> As far as I’m concerned, it’s morally correct to be a vegetarian.
The quality of the soul becomes purified and you come closer to realization.
Eating meat makes the human body gross and pulls you down to the earth.
That’s why they speak of the three gunas in all spiritual teachings.
Meat eaters have tamasic qualities, which are the lowest qualities of humanhood.
T. 51 Everything Leads To Silence - March 10, 1991
Converting the ordinary vision into one of knowledge one should view the world as Brahman. That is the noblest vision. One should direct ones vision to That alone, where all distinction of the seer, sight and the seen ceases.
Although all dualities arise from the One,
do not cling even to this One.
When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
everything is without fault.
do not cling even to this One.
When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
everything is without fault.
Whenever there is a sense of individuality, personality, or a separateness, you may have so many wants. You want to see a movie, you want to hear music, you want to play, you want to have sex, you want to eat fancy foods, you want to consume intoxicants, but when that sense of separateness is not there, when you are one with the totality, these things are not desired. And spirituality or what you call 'religion' is mainly to understand this: that you don't require anything, you are part of the totality, or reality. When you grasp that, you don't have any of these needs. But so long as you are separate from things, you need everything.
To exist as a separate individual constitutes the entire problem.
To exist as a separate individual constitutes the entire problem.
REAL MEANING OF PUJA
Puja really is - the losing of one's individuality in that which is worshipped.
Puja really is - the losing of one's individuality in that which is worshipped.
It is the false identity of the Self with the body that causes the idea of preference, etc.
Are you the body?
Were you aware of it when you were fast asleep last night?
No!
What is it that exists now and troubles you?
It is `I'.
Get rid of it and be happy.
Are you the body?
Were you aware of it when you were fast asleep last night?
No!
What is it that exists now and troubles you?
It is `I'.
Get rid of it and be happy.
Wisdom lies in never forgetting the Self as the ever-present Source of both the experiencer and his experience.
People do all sorts of funny things
according to their preconceived notions.
We have merely to keep quiet
witnessing them.
according to their preconceived notions.
We have merely to keep quiet
witnessing them.
SATSANG WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI
REALIZATION OF THE SELF COMES THROUGH BOTH EFFORT AND GRACE
Q: You talk a lot about effort but rarely speak about grace. Don’t you attach much importance to grace?
AS: Grace is important. In fact it is essential. It is even more important than effort. Realization of the Self comes through both effort and grace. When one makes a steady effort to abide in the Self one receives the guru’s grace in abundance. The grace comes not only through the form of one’s guru. When you meditate earnestly all the Jivanmuktas of the past and the present respond to your efforts by sending you blessings of light.
Q: Should one have a strong desire for realization? Is such a desire necessary if we want to do earnest sadhana? Or should we surrender even this desire and just get on with our meditation?
AS: Once, as Narada was going to Vaikunta, he met two sadhus who were doing tapas. They asked him where he was going and he replied, ‘Vaikunta’. They both wanted to know how their tapas was progressing so they asked Narada to ask Vishnu when they would attain liberation. Narada went to Vaikunta and returned with the information.
To the first sadhu he said, ‘You are very close. After four or five more births you will get liberation.’
The sadhu was rather annoyed by his prediction because he felt that he was almost enlightened.
‘I have been doing tapas since my birth,’ he said, ‘and I know that I have done tapas in previous births. Why do I have to wait for four or five births? This prediction cannot be correct.’
Narada said to the second sadhu: ‘You have been doing tapas under a tamarind tree. For you too liberation will eventually come, but first you will have to take as many more births as there are leaves on this tree.’
The second sadhu was very happy to hear this. ‘Moksha is certain for me!’ he exclaimed. ‘It will come one day. Vishnu Himself has guaranteed it!’
At that moment a big wind came and blew all the leaves off the tree. As the last leaf touched the ground he realized the Self.
The sadhu who was patient and contented showed that he had truly surrendered. The other sadhu showed his immaturity through his frustration and his impatience. If you have truly surrendered, you don’t demand realization from God. You are content with whatever He gives you.
Q: It seems that so much time is needed to realize the Self; many lifetimes in fact. For me, realization always seems to be an event in the distant future.
AS: You don’t need hundreds of lives to realize the Self. In fact you don’t need any time at all. Your idea of time is one of the things that is holding you in bondage. Time is one of the properties of the mind. Liberation does not come after a period of time because there is no time in the Self.
Liberation comes when you fully understand and experience there is no one who needs liberation. That understanding and that experience only arise when the mind and its inbuilt ideas of time cease to function. If you think about time and start to worry about how much longer it will be before you realize the Self, your attention will be on the mind and not on the Self. You can only make progress while the mind is on the Self.
Q: You often say that satsang is important. Can I have satsang of Bhagavan even though he is now dead? I am asking this because I once had a powerful experience of his presence while I was in Switzerland. At that time Bhagavan had been dead for many years.
AS: Bhagavan is at all times and in all places. Since he is the Self and not any particular physical form, it is of little importance that the body that we took to be Bhagavan is now dead. Radio waves can be received anywhere. If you tune yourself to Bhagavan’s wave length, which means abiding in the Self, you can be aware of him broadcasting his grace wherever you are.
There is never any separation from Bhagavan. Every atom in the material universe is Bhagavan. Every act which happens in the world is done by Bhagavan alone. Every being, every form is Bhagavan’s form. When you are clearly attuned to Bhagavan you will experience clarity and peace. You will receive guidance wherever you are.
Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 288
REALIZATION OF THE SELF COMES THROUGH BOTH EFFORT AND GRACE
Q: You talk a lot about effort but rarely speak about grace. Don’t you attach much importance to grace?
AS: Grace is important. In fact it is essential. It is even more important than effort. Realization of the Self comes through both effort and grace. When one makes a steady effort to abide in the Self one receives the guru’s grace in abundance. The grace comes not only through the form of one’s guru. When you meditate earnestly all the Jivanmuktas of the past and the present respond to your efforts by sending you blessings of light.
Q: Should one have a strong desire for realization? Is such a desire necessary if we want to do earnest sadhana? Or should we surrender even this desire and just get on with our meditation?
AS: Once, as Narada was going to Vaikunta, he met two sadhus who were doing tapas. They asked him where he was going and he replied, ‘Vaikunta’. They both wanted to know how their tapas was progressing so they asked Narada to ask Vishnu when they would attain liberation. Narada went to Vaikunta and returned with the information.
To the first sadhu he said, ‘You are very close. After four or five more births you will get liberation.’
The sadhu was rather annoyed by his prediction because he felt that he was almost enlightened.
‘I have been doing tapas since my birth,’ he said, ‘and I know that I have done tapas in previous births. Why do I have to wait for four or five births? This prediction cannot be correct.’
Narada said to the second sadhu: ‘You have been doing tapas under a tamarind tree. For you too liberation will eventually come, but first you will have to take as many more births as there are leaves on this tree.’
The second sadhu was very happy to hear this. ‘Moksha is certain for me!’ he exclaimed. ‘It will come one day. Vishnu Himself has guaranteed it!’
At that moment a big wind came and blew all the leaves off the tree. As the last leaf touched the ground he realized the Self.
The sadhu who was patient and contented showed that he had truly surrendered. The other sadhu showed his immaturity through his frustration and his impatience. If you have truly surrendered, you don’t demand realization from God. You are content with whatever He gives you.
Q: It seems that so much time is needed to realize the Self; many lifetimes in fact. For me, realization always seems to be an event in the distant future.
AS: You don’t need hundreds of lives to realize the Self. In fact you don’t need any time at all. Your idea of time is one of the things that is holding you in bondage. Time is one of the properties of the mind. Liberation does not come after a period of time because there is no time in the Self.
Liberation comes when you fully understand and experience there is no one who needs liberation. That understanding and that experience only arise when the mind and its inbuilt ideas of time cease to function. If you think about time and start to worry about how much longer it will be before you realize the Self, your attention will be on the mind and not on the Self. You can only make progress while the mind is on the Self.
Q: You often say that satsang is important. Can I have satsang of Bhagavan even though he is now dead? I am asking this because I once had a powerful experience of his presence while I was in Switzerland. At that time Bhagavan had been dead for many years.
AS: Bhagavan is at all times and in all places. Since he is the Self and not any particular physical form, it is of little importance that the body that we took to be Bhagavan is now dead. Radio waves can be received anywhere. If you tune yourself to Bhagavan’s wave length, which means abiding in the Self, you can be aware of him broadcasting his grace wherever you are.
There is never any separation from Bhagavan. Every atom in the material universe is Bhagavan. Every act which happens in the world is done by Bhagavan alone. Every being, every form is Bhagavan’s form. When you are clearly attuned to Bhagavan you will experience clarity and peace. You will receive guidance wherever you are.
Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 288
There is always a reaction to every action. You must meet situations simply, as they arise.
This (Swami's illness) is a gift. Karma must be gone through. I have no connection whatever with this body.
This body brought with it the seeds of all else in life. Illness is part of it.
One need not inquire into the cause of this illness.
There is no action that can be claimed as ours.
All this was settled long, long ago. Don't be frightened of anything.
People who understand the cause of this will merely note this as the end of all suffering and remain undisturbed.
This (Swami's illness) is a gift. Karma must be gone through. I have no connection whatever with this body.
This body brought with it the seeds of all else in life. Illness is part of it.
One need not inquire into the cause of this illness.
There is no action that can be claimed as ours.
All this was settled long, long ago. Don't be frightened of anything.
People who understand the cause of this will merely note this as the end of all suffering and remain undisturbed.
Know yourself to be the changeless witness of the changeful mind. That is enough.
All are seeing God always. But they do not know it.
If others throw thorns at you, you should be able to throw flowers back at them. If others give us poison, we should give them sweets. Sadhana is to cultivate such a mind
Beings
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