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Find the "presence", not the "present"!
The presence is timeless. The present is time bound. The present is fluid, is memory, is mind, is an idea.
People say, "the past is unreal, the future is unreal, only the present, only here & now...", but the "here & now" is also unreal, is also an idea. Because you have touched it with your mind. So it becomes a bit dirty. Only seeing it from the timeless then everything is good.
Your Being is timeless.
The presence is timeless. The present is time bound. The present is fluid, is memory, is mind, is an idea.
People say, "the past is unreal, the future is unreal, only the present, only here & now...", but the "here & now" is also unreal, is also an idea. Because you have touched it with your mind. So it becomes a bit dirty. Only seeing it from the timeless then everything is good.
Your Being is timeless.
In the light of calm and steady self awareness, inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part.
KARMA
=======
Student:
When something good happens to a person, good or bad,
we say it's his or her karma.
But the fact of the matter is they're not individuals.
So it can be said it's karma,
but not it's his karma or her karma.
Is that correct?
Robert:
As long as you believe in karma,
then karma will always grab you,
and turn you in all directions.
But when you ask
“For whom is there karma?"
and realize it's only for the personal I,
then there is no longer any karma.
As long as you believe you are the body then karma exists for you also,
for karma only exists for the body.
Karma does not exist for the self.
Karma only exists for the body and the mind. And when the body and the mind has been totally transmuted,
where is there karma?
It's gone.
It never was.
~ The Collected Works of Robert Adams
=======
Student:
When something good happens to a person, good or bad,
we say it's his or her karma.
But the fact of the matter is they're not individuals.
So it can be said it's karma,
but not it's his karma or her karma.
Is that correct?
Robert:
As long as you believe in karma,
then karma will always grab you,
and turn you in all directions.
But when you ask
“For whom is there karma?"
and realize it's only for the personal I,
then there is no longer any karma.
As long as you believe you are the body then karma exists for you also,
for karma only exists for the body.
Karma does not exist for the self.
Karma only exists for the body and the mind. And when the body and the mind has been totally transmuted,
where is there karma?
It's gone.
It never was.
~ The Collected Works of Robert Adams
Teaching in Words and Silence
On a Shivaratri day, after dinner, Bhagavan was reclining on the sofa surrounded by many devotees. A Sadhu suggested that, since this was a most auspicious night, the meaning of the verse in praise of Dakshinamurti should be made clear. Bhagavan gave his approval and all were eagerly waiting for him to say something.
He simply sat, gazing at us. We were gradually absorbed in ever deepening silence, which was not disturbed by the clock striking the hour, every hour, until 4 a.m. None moved or talked. Time and space ceased to exist. Bhagavan’s grace kept us at peace and silence for seven hours. In this silence, Bhagavan taught us the Ultimate, like Dakshinamurti. At the stroke of four Bhagavan asked us whether we had understood the meaning of the silent teaching. Like waves on the infinite ocean of bliss, we fell at Bhagavan’s feet.
- T. K. Sundaresa Iyer, Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Maharshi has been looking into the Siva Purana this day.
He says: Siva has the transcendental and immanent aspects as represented by His invisible, transcendental being and the linga aspect respectively. The linga originally manifested as Arunachala stands even to this day.
This manifestation was when the moon was in the constellation of Orion (Ardra) in December. However, it was first worshipped on Maha Sivaratri day which is held sacred even now. In the sphere of speech Pranava (the mystic sound AUM) represents the transcendental (nirguna) and the Panchakshari (NamaSivaya or SivayaNama) represents the immanent aspect (saguna).
- Talks 218
On a Shivaratri day, after dinner, Bhagavan was reclining on the sofa surrounded by many devotees. A Sadhu suggested that, since this was a most auspicious night, the meaning of the verse in praise of Dakshinamurti should be made clear. Bhagavan gave his approval and all were eagerly waiting for him to say something.
He simply sat, gazing at us. We were gradually absorbed in ever deepening silence, which was not disturbed by the clock striking the hour, every hour, until 4 a.m. None moved or talked. Time and space ceased to exist. Bhagavan’s grace kept us at peace and silence for seven hours. In this silence, Bhagavan taught us the Ultimate, like Dakshinamurti. At the stroke of four Bhagavan asked us whether we had understood the meaning of the silent teaching. Like waves on the infinite ocean of bliss, we fell at Bhagavan’s feet.
- T. K. Sundaresa Iyer, Ramana Smrti Souvenir
Maharshi has been looking into the Siva Purana this day.
He says: Siva has the transcendental and immanent aspects as represented by His invisible, transcendental being and the linga aspect respectively. The linga originally manifested as Arunachala stands even to this day.
This manifestation was when the moon was in the constellation of Orion (Ardra) in December. However, it was first worshipped on Maha Sivaratri day which is held sacred even now. In the sphere of speech Pranava (the mystic sound AUM) represents the transcendental (nirguna) and the Panchakshari (NamaSivaya or SivayaNama) represents the immanent aspect (saguna).
- Talks 218
BHAGAVAN DISCUSSES AUROBINDO WITH SWAMI MADHAVATHIRTA
Sri Aurobindo believes that the human body is not the last on this earth. Establishment in the Self, according to him, is not perfectly attained in a human body, for Self-knowledge does not operate there in its natural way. Therefore the vijnanamaya sarira [the body made of pure knowledge] in which Self-knowledge can work naturally must be brought down on this earth.
M: Self-knowledge can shine very well in the human body, so there is no need of any other body.
Q: Sri Aurobindo believes that the vijnanamaya sarira will not be attacked by disease, will not grow old, and will not die without one’s desire.
M: The body itself is a disease. To wish for a long stay of that disease is not the aim of the jnani. Anyhow, one has to give up identification with the body. Just as the I-am-the-body consciousness prevents one from attaining Self-knowledge, in the same way, one who has got the conviction that he is not the body will become liberated even if he doesn’t desire it.
Q: Sri Aurobindo wants to bring the power of God into the human body.
M: If, after surrendering, one still has this desire, then surrender has not been successful. If one has the attitude, ‘If the higher power is to come down, it must come into my body’, this will only increase identification with the body. Truly speaking, there is no need of any such descent. After the destruction of the I-am-the-body idea, the individual becomes the form of the absolute. In that state, there is no above or below, front or back.
Q: If the individual becomes the form of the absolute, then who will enjoy the bliss of the absolute? To enjoy the bliss of the absolute, we must be slightly separate from it, like the fly that tastes sugar from a little distance.
M: The bliss of the absolute is the bliss of one’s own nature. It is not born, nor has it been created. Pleasure that is created is destroyed. Sugar, being insentient, cannot taste itself. The fly has to keep a little distance to taste it. But the absolute is awareness and consciousness. It can give its own bliss, but its nature cannot be understood without attaining that state.
Q: Sri Aurobindo wants to bring down to earth a new divine race.
M: Whatever is to be attained in the future is to be understood as impermanent. Learn to understand properly what you have now so that there will be no need of thinking about the future.
Q: Sri Aurobindo says that God has created various kinds of worlds and is still going to create a new world.
M: Our present world is not real. Each one sees a different imaginary world according to his imagination, so where is the guarantee that the new world will be real? The jiva [the individual person], the world and God, all of these are relative ideas. So long as there is the individual sense of ‘I’, these three are also there.
From this individual sense of ‘I’, from the mind, these three have arisen.
If you stop the mind, the three will not remain, but Brahman alone will remain, as it remains and abides even now. We see things because of an error. This misperception will be rectified by enquiring into the real nature of this jiva. Even if this jiva enters Supermind, it will remain in the mind, but after surrendering the mind, there will be nothing left but Brahman. Whether this world is real or unreal, consciousness or inert, a place of happiness or a place of misery, all these states arises in the state of ignorance. They are not useful after realization.
The state of Atmanishta [being fixed in the Self], devoid of the individual feeling of ‘I’, is the supreme state. In this state there is no room for thinking of objects, nor this feeling of individual being. There is no doubt of any kind in this natural state of being-consciousness-bliss.
So long as there is the perception of name and form in oneself, God will appear with form, but when the vision of the formless reality is achieved there will be no modifications of seer, seeing and seen. That vision is the nature of consciousness itself, non-dual and undivided. It is limitless, infinite and perfect.
When the individual sense of ‘I’ arises in the body, the world is seen. If this sense is absent, who then will see the world?
- The Power of the Presence
Sri Aurobindo believes that the human body is not the last on this earth. Establishment in the Self, according to him, is not perfectly attained in a human body, for Self-knowledge does not operate there in its natural way. Therefore the vijnanamaya sarira [the body made of pure knowledge] in which Self-knowledge can work naturally must be brought down on this earth.
M: Self-knowledge can shine very well in the human body, so there is no need of any other body.
Q: Sri Aurobindo believes that the vijnanamaya sarira will not be attacked by disease, will not grow old, and will not die without one’s desire.
M: The body itself is a disease. To wish for a long stay of that disease is not the aim of the jnani. Anyhow, one has to give up identification with the body. Just as the I-am-the-body consciousness prevents one from attaining Self-knowledge, in the same way, one who has got the conviction that he is not the body will become liberated even if he doesn’t desire it.
Q: Sri Aurobindo wants to bring the power of God into the human body.
M: If, after surrendering, one still has this desire, then surrender has not been successful. If one has the attitude, ‘If the higher power is to come down, it must come into my body’, this will only increase identification with the body. Truly speaking, there is no need of any such descent. After the destruction of the I-am-the-body idea, the individual becomes the form of the absolute. In that state, there is no above or below, front or back.
Q: If the individual becomes the form of the absolute, then who will enjoy the bliss of the absolute? To enjoy the bliss of the absolute, we must be slightly separate from it, like the fly that tastes sugar from a little distance.
M: The bliss of the absolute is the bliss of one’s own nature. It is not born, nor has it been created. Pleasure that is created is destroyed. Sugar, being insentient, cannot taste itself. The fly has to keep a little distance to taste it. But the absolute is awareness and consciousness. It can give its own bliss, but its nature cannot be understood without attaining that state.
Q: Sri Aurobindo wants to bring down to earth a new divine race.
M: Whatever is to be attained in the future is to be understood as impermanent. Learn to understand properly what you have now so that there will be no need of thinking about the future.
Q: Sri Aurobindo says that God has created various kinds of worlds and is still going to create a new world.
M: Our present world is not real. Each one sees a different imaginary world according to his imagination, so where is the guarantee that the new world will be real? The jiva [the individual person], the world and God, all of these are relative ideas. So long as there is the individual sense of ‘I’, these three are also there.
From this individual sense of ‘I’, from the mind, these three have arisen.
If you stop the mind, the three will not remain, but Brahman alone will remain, as it remains and abides even now. We see things because of an error. This misperception will be rectified by enquiring into the real nature of this jiva. Even if this jiva enters Supermind, it will remain in the mind, but after surrendering the mind, there will be nothing left but Brahman. Whether this world is real or unreal, consciousness or inert, a place of happiness or a place of misery, all these states arises in the state of ignorance. They are not useful after realization.
The state of Atmanishta [being fixed in the Self], devoid of the individual feeling of ‘I’, is the supreme state. In this state there is no room for thinking of objects, nor this feeling of individual being. There is no doubt of any kind in this natural state of being-consciousness-bliss.
So long as there is the perception of name and form in oneself, God will appear with form, but when the vision of the formless reality is achieved there will be no modifications of seer, seeing and seen. That vision is the nature of consciousness itself, non-dual and undivided. It is limitless, infinite and perfect.
When the individual sense of ‘I’ arises in the body, the world is seen. If this sense is absent, who then will see the world?
- The Power of the Presence
THE INFINITE DIVINE BLISS
Bhagavan explained how it is said in books that the highest possible happiness, which a human being can attain or which the ten grades of beings higher than man, ending with gods like Brahma can attain, is like foam in the deluging flood of the bliss of the Self.
Imagine a man in robust health; of vigorous adult age, endowed with unsurpassed wealth and power, with intellect and all other resources, and married to a fair and faithful wife, and conceive of his happiness.
Each higher grade of being above man is capable of a hundred-fold greater happiness than that of the grade below. But the highest happiness of all the eleven grades of being is only the foam in the flooding ocean of divine bliss.
Day by Day, 22-11-45 Morning
Bhagavan explained how it is said in books that the highest possible happiness, which a human being can attain or which the ten grades of beings higher than man, ending with gods like Brahma can attain, is like foam in the deluging flood of the bliss of the Self.
Imagine a man in robust health; of vigorous adult age, endowed with unsurpassed wealth and power, with intellect and all other resources, and married to a fair and faithful wife, and conceive of his happiness.
Each higher grade of being above man is capable of a hundred-fold greater happiness than that of the grade below. But the highest happiness of all the eleven grades of being is only the foam in the flooding ocean of divine bliss.
Day by Day, 22-11-45 Morning
Bhagavan Ramana was and is unique. So too, his life and his teaching was and is unique! He was open to all and available to all – all the 24 hours. He treated anyone, everyone and everything equally. His tremendous compassion and love included humans, birds, animals, plants, trees and even rocks.
The dog Jackie would sit motionless in front of the Maharshi, meditating like all other devotees. He neither barked nor wagged his tail when he was there. He never even sniffed food kept on the stool next to him in front of the Maharshi. Seeing this, the Maharshi himself once remarked: “Jackie is in the state of samadhi.”
A monkey once came into the Hall to grab a banana from a big bunch kept in front of the Maharshi. He put his hand on them and looked at the Maharshi, who looked back intently at the monkey. The monkey stayed motionless - in a state of quietude for a long time. When he regained his habitual monkey nature, he grabbed a banana and began to rush out. Sri Bhagavan mildly asked him, “What is the urgency? Why don’t you stay quietly in that state? What kingdom are you going to conquer outside?”
As if praying for the Maharshi’s personal attention and sacred touch to attain the highest state of emancipation, a crow waited three whole days on the top of a pole just outside the Hall. When Sri Bhagavan was informed of it, he got up, went near the crow and said, “Oh! You are waiting for me! ” He then opened the crow’s beak, poured a few drops of water from his kamandalu [water pot] and looked at the crow with intense love. The crow opened its eyes and dropped its body in the hands of the Maharshi. Maharshi himself built its tomb, confirming that it had attained Freedom!
Cow Lakshmi used to come to Sri Bhagavan twice every day – once in the morning and again in the evening. She would ignore everyone else and come straight to Sri Bhagavan – even if there were large crowds around him – and then bend down and lick his feet. The Maharshi used to remark, “Just as all of you prostrate, this cow’s way of conveying reverence is through licking my feet!”
Sri Bhagavan had absolutely no sense of ownership of anything, including his body. When doctors cut off the infected flesh from his cancer affected arm, he too looked on with a detached look, similar to that of the doctors.
When the devotees cried and lamented that he was leaving them all and going away, Bhagavan Ramana, declared, “ Where could I go? I AM HERE ! ” He was indicating the ‘here’ within the Heart of every one of us. On April 14, 1950, the son ‘Ramana’ merged in the Source from where he came - the Hill of the Holy Fire, Father Arunachala - in the form of light!
The light we call Sri Bhagavan had merged with the Light of lights-Arunachala Jyothi !
Source: Sri V Ganesan talks about Ramana Maharshi
The dog Jackie would sit motionless in front of the Maharshi, meditating like all other devotees. He neither barked nor wagged his tail when he was there. He never even sniffed food kept on the stool next to him in front of the Maharshi. Seeing this, the Maharshi himself once remarked: “Jackie is in the state of samadhi.”
A monkey once came into the Hall to grab a banana from a big bunch kept in front of the Maharshi. He put his hand on them and looked at the Maharshi, who looked back intently at the monkey. The monkey stayed motionless - in a state of quietude for a long time. When he regained his habitual monkey nature, he grabbed a banana and began to rush out. Sri Bhagavan mildly asked him, “What is the urgency? Why don’t you stay quietly in that state? What kingdom are you going to conquer outside?”
As if praying for the Maharshi’s personal attention and sacred touch to attain the highest state of emancipation, a crow waited three whole days on the top of a pole just outside the Hall. When Sri Bhagavan was informed of it, he got up, went near the crow and said, “Oh! You are waiting for me! ” He then opened the crow’s beak, poured a few drops of water from his kamandalu [water pot] and looked at the crow with intense love. The crow opened its eyes and dropped its body in the hands of the Maharshi. Maharshi himself built its tomb, confirming that it had attained Freedom!
Cow Lakshmi used to come to Sri Bhagavan twice every day – once in the morning and again in the evening. She would ignore everyone else and come straight to Sri Bhagavan – even if there were large crowds around him – and then bend down and lick his feet. The Maharshi used to remark, “Just as all of you prostrate, this cow’s way of conveying reverence is through licking my feet!”
Sri Bhagavan had absolutely no sense of ownership of anything, including his body. When doctors cut off the infected flesh from his cancer affected arm, he too looked on with a detached look, similar to that of the doctors.
When the devotees cried and lamented that he was leaving them all and going away, Bhagavan Ramana, declared, “ Where could I go? I AM HERE ! ” He was indicating the ‘here’ within the Heart of every one of us. On April 14, 1950, the son ‘Ramana’ merged in the Source from where he came - the Hill of the Holy Fire, Father Arunachala - in the form of light!
The light we call Sri Bhagavan had merged with the Light of lights-Arunachala Jyothi !
Source: Sri V Ganesan talks about Ramana Maharshi
The intellect is like a knife – the sharper, the better. As long as you know how to handle it.
JNANA IS INDESTRUCTIBLE
I have a sister who believes that the world is about to end in a nuclear holocaust. Many other people feel the same. Does Swami have any views on this?
Annamalai Swami: I do not think that the world will be destroyed in the near future. But even if it is about to be destroyed it is not something that you should think about or worry about. Keep your attention in the present; keep it on the Self. If you establish yourself in the Self you need not worry about the future of the world. If you realize the Self, nothing can touch you. You can destroy a jnani’s body, you can destroy the world that he lives in, but you cannot touch or change his Self-awareness.
The disappearance of the entire universe will not affect the jnani because jnana is indestructible. Consciousness, the substratum of the universe, cannot be changed in any way. When the world appears in consciousness, consciousness doesn’t undergo any change. So, even when the universe disappears, consciousness is unaffected.
Everything that appears will one day disappear. There is no permanence in the world of forms. But that unchangeable consciousness in which all forms appear can never be diminished, destroyed or altered in any way. If you learn to be that consciousness you come to understand that nothing can touch or destroy you. …
Ignorance causes us to worry about the possible destruction of the body. If you make your well-being dependent on the well-being of the body, you will always be worrying and suffering. When you know, from direct experience, that you are the Self, you realize that there is no birth and death. You realize that you are deathless and immortal. Self-realization is sometimes called the immortal state because it never ends and because it is never destroyed or even altered. If you keep your attention on the Self you can attain this immortality. If you attain it, in that ultimate state of being you will find that there is no birth, no death, no desires, no fears, no worries, no mind and no world.
- Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 294
I have a sister who believes that the world is about to end in a nuclear holocaust. Many other people feel the same. Does Swami have any views on this?
Annamalai Swami: I do not think that the world will be destroyed in the near future. But even if it is about to be destroyed it is not something that you should think about or worry about. Keep your attention in the present; keep it on the Self. If you establish yourself in the Self you need not worry about the future of the world. If you realize the Self, nothing can touch you. You can destroy a jnani’s body, you can destroy the world that he lives in, but you cannot touch or change his Self-awareness.
The disappearance of the entire universe will not affect the jnani because jnana is indestructible. Consciousness, the substratum of the universe, cannot be changed in any way. When the world appears in consciousness, consciousness doesn’t undergo any change. So, even when the universe disappears, consciousness is unaffected.
Everything that appears will one day disappear. There is no permanence in the world of forms. But that unchangeable consciousness in which all forms appear can never be diminished, destroyed or altered in any way. If you learn to be that consciousness you come to understand that nothing can touch or destroy you. …
Ignorance causes us to worry about the possible destruction of the body. If you make your well-being dependent on the well-being of the body, you will always be worrying and suffering. When you know, from direct experience, that you are the Self, you realize that there is no birth and death. You realize that you are deathless and immortal. Self-realization is sometimes called the immortal state because it never ends and because it is never destroyed or even altered. If you keep your attention on the Self you can attain this immortality. If you attain it, in that ultimate state of being you will find that there is no birth, no death, no desires, no fears, no worries, no mind and no world.
- Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p. 294
Leadership means partnership, cooperation, mentoring, and support. It does not mean dominance. Dominance is tyranny.
Q: Nevertheless, you are aware of the immense suffering of the world?
M: Of course l am, much more than you are.
Q: Then what do you do?
M: I look at it through the eyes of God and find that all is well.
Q: How can you say that all is well? Look at the wars, the exploitation, the cruel strife between the citizen and the state.
M: All these sufferings are man-made and it is within man’s power to put an end to them. God helps by facing man with the results of his actions and demanding that the balance should be restored. Karma is the law that works for righteousness; it is the healing hand of God.
~Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That, p. 24
M: Of course l am, much more than you are.
Q: Then what do you do?
M: I look at it through the eyes of God and find that all is well.
Q: How can you say that all is well? Look at the wars, the exploitation, the cruel strife between the citizen and the state.
M: All these sufferings are man-made and it is within man’s power to put an end to them. God helps by facing man with the results of his actions and demanding that the balance should be restored. Karma is the law that works for righteousness; it is the healing hand of God.
~Nisargadatta Maharaj
I Am That, p. 24
Q: Mooji, you say we don't have complete free will. I disagree.
M: For instance?
Q: For instance: If I wish to climb this tree, nothing can stop me.
M: Can you climb it now?
Q: No.
M: Why not? It would demonstrate your point very well.
Q: Well, I don't feel like it right now.
M: What makes you feel like it? Do you have any choice in that?
Q: No
M: Then where is your free will?
M: For instance?
Q: For instance: If I wish to climb this tree, nothing can stop me.
M: Can you climb it now?
Q: No.
M: Why not? It would demonstrate your point very well.
Q: Well, I don't feel like it right now.
M: What makes you feel like it? Do you have any choice in that?
Q: No
M: Then where is your free will?
People discuss whether Brahman is with form or without form, but I have seen Brahman on the slopes of Arunachala in the form of a frail man, tottering about with a stick in his hand, opening out the large lotus petals of his eyes and looking round for souls to save. He is none other than Sri Ramana.
“Understand that the false needs time and what needs time is false”
Self-interest and self-concern are the focal points of the false. Your daily life vibrates between desire and fear. Watch it intently and you will see how the mind assumes innumerable names and shapes, like a river foaming between the boulders. Trace every action to its selfish motive and look at the motive intently till it dissolves.
Discard every self-seeking motive as soon as it is seen and you need not search for truth; truth will find you. 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. You are complete here and now, you need absolutely nothing.
It does not mean that you must be brainless and foolhardy, improvident or indifferent; only the basic anxiety for oneself must go. 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. Live in tune with things as they are and not as they are imagined.
All you can say about yourself is: 'I am.' You are pure being -- awareness -- bliss. To realise that is the end of all seeking. 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 not at all difficult, but detachment is needed.
It is the clinging to the false that makes the true so difficult to see. Once you understand that the false needs time and what needs time is false, you are nearer the Reality, which is timeless, ever in the now. (...) If you need time to achieve something, it must be false. The real is always with you; you need not wait to be what you are.
Self-interest and self-concern are the focal points of the false. Your daily life vibrates between desire and fear. Watch it intently and you will see how the mind assumes innumerable names and shapes, like a river foaming between the boulders. Trace every action to its selfish motive and look at the motive intently till it dissolves.
Discard every self-seeking motive as soon as it is seen and you need not search for truth; truth will find you. 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. You are complete here and now, you need absolutely nothing.
It does not mean that you must be brainless and foolhardy, improvident or indifferent; only the basic anxiety for oneself must go. 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. Live in tune with things as they are and not as they are imagined.
All you can say about yourself is: 'I am.' You are pure being -- awareness -- bliss. To realise that is the end of all seeking. 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 not at all difficult, but detachment is needed.
It is the clinging to the false that makes the true so difficult to see. Once you understand that the false needs time and what needs time is false, you are nearer the Reality, which is timeless, ever in the now. (...) If you need time to achieve something, it must be false. The real is always with you; you need not wait to be what you are.
Many beings come to me and say, ‘Life is flowing very beautifully now. I am in a state of peace. My intuitive powers are opening up. Life is a sweet flow. I see sensations and thoughts coming and going but I am unchanging.'
They feel they are enjoying the complete state of Self-realization.
But then unexpectedly, this state is suddenly changing. Many thoughts are coming now and they are not nice ones.
Before, there was a shield of protection but now all ugly things are coming through. The awakening honeymoon seems to be over.
Now please pay attention. Listen well.
This is a form of Grace actually. This phase has come and signals that you must mature further in order to attain complete realization of the Self.
I sometimes say, 'You want to taste the honey, you don't want to be the honey'. What is this honey? It is the satchitananda state — the perfume of the Self experienced as existence, consciousness and bliss. All beings enjoy this state and wish to prolong it, believing it to be the ultimate state.
Through these intense satsangs, ego is thinning away and you are beginning to experience an expansion within your being.
You are enjoying. You are tasting the honey. Why not? Very nice. Best honey. But then somehow you get a bee sting and the tongue hurts. The honey is gone or feels polluted.
What happened? Your beautiful spiritual world has changed. Your spontaneity has gone.
Don't panic. You haven't done anything wrong.
What is important now is that you recognize that you are still totally here as pure quality-less awareness.
Grace says, 'You must experience only awareness without the taste of the honey.' But this is not acceptable to the 'experiencer' self. It wants the tasting to continue uninterrupted. It wants nothing more.
Where is the taste?
There is only the tasteless awareness.
This 'experiencer' self is a mix of presence and ego and must be transcended before Self-realization is complete.
Remember, just as the flower is not attached to its smell, awareness is not addicted to any state.
Now you must be the Self beyond quality.
Don't rely on the fragrance.
The initial fragrance is still the subtlest part of phenomenality, but it can and will disappear.
But the Self cannot disappear.
It cannot even appear for it is infinite and timeless.
As soon as you, the true Self, recognize and start marinating in your own emptiness, the attachment to fragrances weaken.
Before arriving to this stage, there was no attraction for the ultimate Self, only for its dynamic aspect as presence.
Now, as a result of listening to and following these direct pointings you come to find the Supreme joy — the immutable Self.
Here is the unfading peace that cannot be described.
You are not merely tasting peace.
You are peace itself.
You are not feeling happy.
You are happiness itself.
You are beyond the play of interrelated opposites. Beyond the spell of duality.
This Realization few have attained.
Here in satsang today, you may discover and be one of them.
They feel they are enjoying the complete state of Self-realization.
But then unexpectedly, this state is suddenly changing. Many thoughts are coming now and they are not nice ones.
Before, there was a shield of protection but now all ugly things are coming through. The awakening honeymoon seems to be over.
Now please pay attention. Listen well.
This is a form of Grace actually. This phase has come and signals that you must mature further in order to attain complete realization of the Self.
I sometimes say, 'You want to taste the honey, you don't want to be the honey'. What is this honey? It is the satchitananda state — the perfume of the Self experienced as existence, consciousness and bliss. All beings enjoy this state and wish to prolong it, believing it to be the ultimate state.
Through these intense satsangs, ego is thinning away and you are beginning to experience an expansion within your being.
You are enjoying. You are tasting the honey. Why not? Very nice. Best honey. But then somehow you get a bee sting and the tongue hurts. The honey is gone or feels polluted.
What happened? Your beautiful spiritual world has changed. Your spontaneity has gone.
Don't panic. You haven't done anything wrong.
What is important now is that you recognize that you are still totally here as pure quality-less awareness.
Grace says, 'You must experience only awareness without the taste of the honey.' But this is not acceptable to the 'experiencer' self. It wants the tasting to continue uninterrupted. It wants nothing more.
Where is the taste?
There is only the tasteless awareness.
This 'experiencer' self is a mix of presence and ego and must be transcended before Self-realization is complete.
Remember, just as the flower is not attached to its smell, awareness is not addicted to any state.
Now you must be the Self beyond quality.
Don't rely on the fragrance.
The initial fragrance is still the subtlest part of phenomenality, but it can and will disappear.
But the Self cannot disappear.
It cannot even appear for it is infinite and timeless.
As soon as you, the true Self, recognize and start marinating in your own emptiness, the attachment to fragrances weaken.
Before arriving to this stage, there was no attraction for the ultimate Self, only for its dynamic aspect as presence.
Now, as a result of listening to and following these direct pointings you come to find the Supreme joy — the immutable Self.
Here is the unfading peace that cannot be described.
You are not merely tasting peace.
You are peace itself.
You are not feeling happy.
You are happiness itself.
You are beyond the play of interrelated opposites. Beyond the spell of duality.
This Realization few have attained.
Here in satsang today, you may discover and be one of them.
Do not think that enlightenment is going to make you special—it's not. If you feel special in any way, then enlightenment has not occurred. I meet a lot of people who think they are enlightened and awake simply because they have had a very moving spiritual experience. They wear their enlightenment on their sleeve like a badge of honor. They sit among friends and talk about how awake they are while sipping coffee at a cafe. The funny thing about enlightenment is that when it is authentic, there is no one to claim it. Enlightenment is very ordinary; it is nothing special. Rather than making you more special, it is going to make you less special. It plants you right in the center of a wonderful humility and innocence. Everyone else may or may not call you enlightened, but when you are enlightened the whole notion of enlightenment and someone who is enlightened is a big joke. I use the word enlightenment all the time—not to point you toward it but to point you beyond it. Do not get stuck in enlightenment.
There are many spiritual people you know who think they have a mission. They have come to save the world. They can't even save themselves, and they're looking to save the world. The world will go on the way it's going on without your help, for or against. Leave the world alone.
There is a power and there is a presence which I like to call THE CURRENT THAT KNOWS THE WAY, that takes care of everything. It is all part of the grand illusion. And even in this illusion which appears in front of your eyes, there is a presence and a power that lifts you up. It will lift you up as high as you can allow it to. Until it lifts you up completely out of your body, out of your thoughts, out of the universe, to a completely new dimension.
There is a power and there is a presence which I like to call THE CURRENT THAT KNOWS THE WAY, that takes care of everything. It is all part of the grand illusion. And even in this illusion which appears in front of your eyes, there is a presence and a power that lifts you up. It will lift you up as high as you can allow it to. Until it lifts you up completely out of your body, out of your thoughts, out of the universe, to a completely new dimension.
This body can become exhausted but the Source from where I'm speaking can never be exhausted.
I can not keep on putting food in the mouth.
I can not do it, it's not good and it's not of much value because I have come to give you the most beautiful Thing,
which you don't have to pay to find,
which you don't have to go to some place to look for, it's not hidden in the Himalayas,
it's right Here in the Center of your Being.
I can not keep on putting food in the mouth.
I can not do it, it's not good and it's not of much value because I have come to give you the most beautiful Thing,
which you don't have to pay to find,
which you don't have to go to some place to look for, it's not hidden in the Himalayas,
it's right Here in the Center of your Being.
THE STORY OF LAKSHMI , part III
Bhagavan has told of a number of incidents in the life of Lakshmi that showed that she had human intelligence. He used to say that although she could not speak the human language, she understood everything
She used to come up to Bhagavan in the hall at mealtime, and accompany him to the dining hall. In those days, there was no mealtime bell. But Lakshmi was so punctual, that even if Bhagavan was engaged in any other work and had
forgotten the time, he would turn and look at the clock when Lakshmi came in. He would know it was mealtime.
She would go straight up to Bhagavan, and remind
Bhagavan that it was time for lunch. Her devotion gave
her a special right to go close to Bhagavan, and she took no notice of the Ashram inmates or visitors who would be
present in the hall.
Lakshmi’s special status in the Ashram gave her the
freedom to help herself to any food that was brought by
devotees because Bhagavan always supported Lakshmi if devotees complained against her. He would also take her
side if anyone tried to prevent her from coming to see him
in the hall.
Bhagavans devotee N.N. Rajan narrates another anecdote about Lakshmi:
"Once I was bringing foodstuff in a large open vessel to offer to Bhagavan. Lakshmi, who had come behind me, was eating from the vessel unnoticed by me.
Bhagavan noticed it and remarked, 'Enough
Lakshmi, enough! Leave something for us.”
So saying, he gave some more foodstuffs to Lakshml and then sent her away. The attendant ridiculed and chided me for being careless.
But Bhagavan, out of Grace, said, ‘Why do you blame him? Poor man, he is too innocent to notice all this.’
Once 'the certificate of innocence' was received
from my Master, I said to myself, what more do I require
in this life?”
Although, the cow Lakshmi had the entire pasture of the Ashram to herself, she certainly did not content herself with that. She knew when it was ‘mealtime’ and time for ‘tiffin.’ On both occasions she would walk right into the hall and place her head on Bhagavans shoulder. Bhagavan would stroke her with affection and call out to the people in the to give her some food.
At that time in the Ashram, although there was water shortage, a kitchen garden was grown with some difficulty.
As Lakshmi was young and frisky,
she would occasionally break in and play havoc with the young plants in the kitchen
garden and eat the fruits and vegetables. When those in
charge of the kitchen garden complained to Bhagavan about what Lakshmi did, Bhagavan, however, always took Lakshmi’s side and defended her by saying, “She is not to he blamed. She went where she found good food. If you don t want her to go there, you ought to have fenced the garden properly to keep her out."
Lakshmi would stand there innocently like a child, who
had done mischief unknowingly.
Bhagavan has told of a number of incidents in the life of Lakshmi that showed that she had human intelligence. He used to say that although she could not speak the human language, she understood everything
She used to come up to Bhagavan in the hall at mealtime, and accompany him to the dining hall. In those days, there was no mealtime bell. But Lakshmi was so punctual, that even if Bhagavan was engaged in any other work and had
forgotten the time, he would turn and look at the clock when Lakshmi came in. He would know it was mealtime.
She would go straight up to Bhagavan, and remind
Bhagavan that it was time for lunch. Her devotion gave
her a special right to go close to Bhagavan, and she took no notice of the Ashram inmates or visitors who would be
present in the hall.
Lakshmi’s special status in the Ashram gave her the
freedom to help herself to any food that was brought by
devotees because Bhagavan always supported Lakshmi if devotees complained against her. He would also take her
side if anyone tried to prevent her from coming to see him
in the hall.
Bhagavans devotee N.N. Rajan narrates another anecdote about Lakshmi:
"Once I was bringing foodstuff in a large open vessel to offer to Bhagavan. Lakshmi, who had come behind me, was eating from the vessel unnoticed by me.
Bhagavan noticed it and remarked, 'Enough
Lakshmi, enough! Leave something for us.”
So saying, he gave some more foodstuffs to Lakshml and then sent her away. The attendant ridiculed and chided me for being careless.
But Bhagavan, out of Grace, said, ‘Why do you blame him? Poor man, he is too innocent to notice all this.’
Once 'the certificate of innocence' was received
from my Master, I said to myself, what more do I require
in this life?”
Although, the cow Lakshmi had the entire pasture of the Ashram to herself, she certainly did not content herself with that. She knew when it was ‘mealtime’ and time for ‘tiffin.’ On both occasions she would walk right into the hall and place her head on Bhagavans shoulder. Bhagavan would stroke her with affection and call out to the people in the to give her some food.
At that time in the Ashram, although there was water shortage, a kitchen garden was grown with some difficulty.
As Lakshmi was young and frisky,
she would occasionally break in and play havoc with the young plants in the kitchen
garden and eat the fruits and vegetables. When those in
charge of the kitchen garden complained to Bhagavan about what Lakshmi did, Bhagavan, however, always took Lakshmi’s side and defended her by saying, “She is not to he blamed. She went where she found good food. If you don t want her to go there, you ought to have fenced the garden properly to keep her out."
Lakshmi would stand there innocently like a child, who
had done mischief unknowingly.
CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI
Q: Does the Guru's grace burn up karma? Can the Guru take away some of our past bad karma?
AS: I served Bhagavan for many years. By doing a lot of service to Bhagavan with all my heart and my full mind, the karmas of my previous lives were erased easily. It was all through his grace.
When this period was over Bhagavan told me, 'Your karmas are finished'. I did not expect Bhagavan to give me such a great blessing.
Finding a great Guru like Bhagavan depends on one's karma.
One cannot hope to find such a Guru unless one has done tapas in previous lives.
The path of jnana is for those who only have a little karma left.
Those who still have many karmas to undergo cannot follow the path of jnana successfully because they don't have the capacity to be still and quiet. Only those who have learned how to be still can abide in the Self.
LWB, p. 330
Q: Does the Guru's grace burn up karma? Can the Guru take away some of our past bad karma?
AS: I served Bhagavan for many years. By doing a lot of service to Bhagavan with all my heart and my full mind, the karmas of my previous lives were erased easily. It was all through his grace.
When this period was over Bhagavan told me, 'Your karmas are finished'. I did not expect Bhagavan to give me such a great blessing.
Finding a great Guru like Bhagavan depends on one's karma.
One cannot hope to find such a Guru unless one has done tapas in previous lives.
The path of jnana is for those who only have a little karma left.
Those who still have many karmas to undergo cannot follow the path of jnana successfully because they don't have the capacity to be still and quiet. Only those who have learned how to be still can abide in the Self.
LWB, p. 330
As you watch your mind, you discover your self as the watcher...when you stand motionless, only watching, you discover your self as the light behind the watcher...the source of light is dark, unknown is the source of knowledge...that source alone is...go back to that source and abide there...
Sometimes you feel you know less and less, but being more and more. You are being more of yourself although you didn't become anything at all. These are paradoxes that cannot be easily explained.
Trust.
You are coming to the edge of your personal self. You are falling into the abyss of your own Self. Say inside your Heart: I am up for this. I choose to be free forever.
Trust.
You are coming to the edge of your personal self. You are falling into the abyss of your own Self. Say inside your Heart: I am up for this. I choose to be free forever.
You're either
doing something or
you're doing nothing.
You're either working on your freedom or you're accepting your bondage.
This is the freedom you've got.
This is the free choice you've got,
to accept your freedom,
or to accept your bondage.
This is where karma and predestination does not interfere with you.
You have the freedom to make a choice,
to go deep within,
as most of you are doing,
or just be part of this world,
which is always changing,
changing,
changing.
~ The Collected Works of Robert Adams Volume 1
doing something or
you're doing nothing.
You're either working on your freedom or you're accepting your bondage.
This is the freedom you've got.
This is the free choice you've got,
to accept your freedom,
or to accept your bondage.
This is where karma and predestination does not interfere with you.
You have the freedom to make a choice,
to go deep within,
as most of you are doing,
or just be part of this world,
which is always changing,
changing,
changing.
~ The Collected Works of Robert Adams Volume 1
If you think it's more "spiritual" to become a vegetarian, buy Organic Foods, practice yoga and meditate, but then you find yourself judging those who don't do all these things, you fell into an ego trap.
If you think it's more "spiritual" riding a bike or public transport at work, but then you're judging those in the car, you fell into an ego trap.
If you think it's more "spiritual" to stop watching tv because it cancels your brain, but then you're judging those who still look at you, you fell into an ego trap.
If you think it's more "spiritual" to avoid reading newspapers and gossip magazines, but then you judge those who read them, you fell into an ego trap.
If you think it's more "spiritual" listening to classical music or sounds of nature, but then you're judging who listens to commercial music, you fell into an ego trap.
You always have to be careful about the feeling of "superiority". it is the most important clue we have to realize that we are dealing into an ego trap. The ego is cleverly hidden in noble thoughts like to start a vegetarian diet or use the bicycle and then turn into a sense of superiority towards those who do not follow the same spiritual path."
If you think it's more "spiritual" riding a bike or public transport at work, but then you're judging those in the car, you fell into an ego trap.
If you think it's more "spiritual" to stop watching tv because it cancels your brain, but then you're judging those who still look at you, you fell into an ego trap.
If you think it's more "spiritual" to avoid reading newspapers and gossip magazines, but then you judge those who read them, you fell into an ego trap.
If you think it's more "spiritual" listening to classical music or sounds of nature, but then you're judging who listens to commercial music, you fell into an ego trap.
You always have to be careful about the feeling of "superiority". it is the most important clue we have to realize that we are dealing into an ego trap. The ego is cleverly hidden in noble thoughts like to start a vegetarian diet or use the bicycle and then turn into a sense of superiority towards those who do not follow the same spiritual path."
Будьте гибкими. Живой человек всегда мягок, а после смерти твердеет. Гибкость - это жизнь, отвердение - смерть и для тела, и для духа, и для ума.
Moojibaba’s Words Before Entering His Silent Retreat:
Many years ago, when these profound changes began taking place in my life, I suddenly found myself spending a lot of time on my own. I had the opportunity, in those days, to just sit by myself in undisturbed peace and silence. It was not my intention or decision to do this. I just went along with what felt right inside my heart and being. It all felt as though God had arranged it like this. Quite a long time passed in silent introspection and self-awareness. Little attention was left for anything else. I lived in a kind of timeless state cocooned inside this silent, blessed feeling of being.
Over 25 years have passed since, and I realise I have not taken any time to just sit by myself. I know that it was absorption in the power and continuous flow of grace from the Supreme Being that makes all this possible here and now. This time of deep immersion in the Self made all these years of travelling around the world sharing Satsang possible. It is still here today in service to your own awakening. I have shared with some of you that an urge has been steadily arising within to rest again inside my own heart-retreat. I do not have any grand ideas or projections about the fruits it will yield.
Here I am extending this invitation to you, my Sangha, to enter into your own inner retreat over this coming month or so. Most of you, of course, have activities and work that must continue, but at the same time I encourage you to be in this inner state and to stay very conscious of the Self even while the outer activities go on. Spend time really sitting and imbibing what I have pointed to as your true nature and position as the unchanging, unmoving awareness. It is not difficult. The pointing is very straightforward, very clean, very clear, but you need to sit with it and not be impatient. And watch…not only the things which keep coming and going but That which does not come and go—the awareness Self. Be one with That for it is not separate from you. Notice that your work and daily activities are spontaneously flowing even better as you keep your mind inside your heart.
This invitation is for all who seek the Truth and are in the hearing of this, wherever you are. Take this chance to keep your attention inside the heart of being. Each time the mind drifts away bring it back to silent, formless awareness. Inside, you must remain, know and confirm yourself as the unmoving One. And this harmony between the unmanifest and the manifest as one integral wholeness will reveal itself as your fundamental nature. Gradually, pure understanding will transmute into final awakening.
Nothing learnt in this world stays with you profoundly if it only stays in your mind as concepts. You must drink my words and pointers in deeply. It is like when you are in love, you welcome and embrace love totally inside so it becomes one with your being. This falling in love-ness, this internalising of the attention, is a very natural thing. It is not a wasteful movement. It is not a personal attainment. It is a universal impulse expanding and expressing itself as blessedness and love to the world.
Being aware of the Self compels and propels us out of the ignorant role and state of personhood and into Universal Consciousness. So while daily life unfolds, I am encouraging you to keep your attention immersed in the source which is your true Self.
Finally, please give this your full-hearted attention: continue growing in your love, respect and service to one another. It is a very mature and illumined Sangha that learns from and inspires each other towards full awakening to the timeless Truth. A true Sangha supports and encourages this truthfulness and integrity to face what is true and what is false without sacrificing the love, harmony and deep respect that are the perfume of the One Self. Without love, there is no Sangha and no real life. I do not know if there is anywhere else on this planet where love, wisdom and Truth are so profoundly alive and venerated as here inside the Sahaja-Heart.
Beloved ones, don’t waste your life pursuing the ephemeral. Transcend ego. Don’t miss your chance.
Timeless love
Moojibaba
Monte Sahaja, Portugal.
Many years ago, when these profound changes began taking place in my life, I suddenly found myself spending a lot of time on my own. I had the opportunity, in those days, to just sit by myself in undisturbed peace and silence. It was not my intention or decision to do this. I just went along with what felt right inside my heart and being. It all felt as though God had arranged it like this. Quite a long time passed in silent introspection and self-awareness. Little attention was left for anything else. I lived in a kind of timeless state cocooned inside this silent, blessed feeling of being.
Over 25 years have passed since, and I realise I have not taken any time to just sit by myself. I know that it was absorption in the power and continuous flow of grace from the Supreme Being that makes all this possible here and now. This time of deep immersion in the Self made all these years of travelling around the world sharing Satsang possible. It is still here today in service to your own awakening. I have shared with some of you that an urge has been steadily arising within to rest again inside my own heart-retreat. I do not have any grand ideas or projections about the fruits it will yield.
Here I am extending this invitation to you, my Sangha, to enter into your own inner retreat over this coming month or so. Most of you, of course, have activities and work that must continue, but at the same time I encourage you to be in this inner state and to stay very conscious of the Self even while the outer activities go on. Spend time really sitting and imbibing what I have pointed to as your true nature and position as the unchanging, unmoving awareness. It is not difficult. The pointing is very straightforward, very clean, very clear, but you need to sit with it and not be impatient. And watch…not only the things which keep coming and going but That which does not come and go—the awareness Self. Be one with That for it is not separate from you. Notice that your work and daily activities are spontaneously flowing even better as you keep your mind inside your heart.
This invitation is for all who seek the Truth and are in the hearing of this, wherever you are. Take this chance to keep your attention inside the heart of being. Each time the mind drifts away bring it back to silent, formless awareness. Inside, you must remain, know and confirm yourself as the unmoving One. And this harmony between the unmanifest and the manifest as one integral wholeness will reveal itself as your fundamental nature. Gradually, pure understanding will transmute into final awakening.
Nothing learnt in this world stays with you profoundly if it only stays in your mind as concepts. You must drink my words and pointers in deeply. It is like when you are in love, you welcome and embrace love totally inside so it becomes one with your being. This falling in love-ness, this internalising of the attention, is a very natural thing. It is not a wasteful movement. It is not a personal attainment. It is a universal impulse expanding and expressing itself as blessedness and love to the world.
Being aware of the Self compels and propels us out of the ignorant role and state of personhood and into Universal Consciousness. So while daily life unfolds, I am encouraging you to keep your attention immersed in the source which is your true Self.
Finally, please give this your full-hearted attention: continue growing in your love, respect and service to one another. It is a very mature and illumined Sangha that learns from and inspires each other towards full awakening to the timeless Truth. A true Sangha supports and encourages this truthfulness and integrity to face what is true and what is false without sacrificing the love, harmony and deep respect that are the perfume of the One Self. Without love, there is no Sangha and no real life. I do not know if there is anywhere else on this planet where love, wisdom and Truth are so profoundly alive and venerated as here inside the Sahaja-Heart.
Beloved ones, don’t waste your life pursuing the ephemeral. Transcend ego. Don’t miss your chance.
Timeless love
Moojibaba
Monte Sahaja, Portugal.
Beings
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