London, 3rd July 2010 – Questions & Answers

Question: If somebody is trying to meditate and sat for an hour, or even an hour and a half, and hadn’t been able to still the mind, would that be a waste of time, or would they have paid off a little bit of karma by trying to make the effort?

Babaji: Yes, making an effort is always better but effort really means adopting the technological method. Here, just like you make an effort to start and drive the car, you have to make an effort to stop it also. Actually you don’t have to do anything. You are putting in an effort to do nothing, that’s what meditation is.  Whether you sit for half an hour or one and a half hours, at all times if you adopt so that you can simply apply the concentration, watch, and do not analyze and make a judgment, so that would give the real effect of meditation.

Question: Good evening. If you’re meditating and you have a fragment of what you think may be a memory of a past life, do You think it’s best just to ignore it and just get back?

Babaji: Yes. Any such thing, if a vision comes or in any form comes, you have to ignore and just keep watching that, then it will go away.

Question: I’d also very much like to know Your opinion of a form of psychotherapy known as ‘past life regression therapy’, utilizing hypnosis…..

Babaji: You see, from the past life the mind would be bringing in such symptoms of its habits that it would have acquired. Based on that a particular nature can build up, but for that one doesn’t have to go to attend any such past life therapy because there is really no such evidence available. Anything will be simply a visualization. Watching the symptoms only we try to assess that this mind is bringing along such habits. But you cannot really track down what has happened in your previous life. There is no such perfectly accurate evidence available. Simply by practicing meditation you can overcome – this meditation itself can apply as a psychotherapy for the mind to overcome all its pain and stress. That would be possible.

Question: I heard from some of the religious people that when you meditate your mind becomes so blank that some of the evil spirits who go around find it easy to get into your mind and occupy you. Babaji could You explain about it?

Babaji: No, certainly such a thing will not happen. Because when you meditate, if the mind becomes quiet, it is not actually blank – it is a Pure Consciousness. Whenever it becomes quiet it starts going towards the Divinity. Mind’s Ultimate Truth is recognized as the Divine, so there is no question of any evil spirit to be able to enter that mind. Only when there is a negativity, that mind picks up the negative habits of thinking, that is all. There is no such spirits existing and they do not enter anybody’s body. This is really not true.

The mind has to become quiet and go introvert, that is what has to happen eventually. Whatever visions come, you just have to watch and do not analyze, then they will all go away eventually. If any such vision comes, use it for focusing the mind. So you should not visualize such spirits that will enter the body because the Divine is everywhere, if you visualize, visualize the Divine only. When the mind becomes quiet, it goes introvert only, eventually you can become aware of your Self.

Question: Another thing is they talk about is the time of meditation. They said if you meditate at midnight that midnight is meant for evil spirits. Is this correct?

Babaji: No, not at all. Every moment there is God. If you visualize God, there is only God, there is no such evil spirit. You can meditate anytime, whenever it is possible. Some points are that you should have taken sufficient rest and feel fresh when you sit down so that you do not fall asleep or feel tired, because the mind needs to be taken care of, and even after taking meals also you need to give sufficient time for it to get digested, that is all. Other than that, you can sit any time of the day or night, is no problem.

Question: Good evening. I have been meditating for some time and I have noticed that lately I’ve been getting a lot of stillness within my body and also the energy on the crown, I could feel sort of tingles here and it going towards the back. Would You say that’s a progress or whether that’s just one of the things that just happens?

Babaji: See when any such thing happens, the actual progress is you have to observe your mind. Mind’s agitations all decrease, it becomes more peaceful, more and more quiet. You see in your life normally, if you get hurt or if your mind absorbs something, you are unable to forget about it for a long time. If the meditation is progressing, the mind gives up all such habits, when it is becoming more purified, more peace descends. That is the symptom of progress, when such a thing happens. Before that, these experiences are all quite natural. It could be happening because whenever the mind gets concentrated it tries to lift the body consciousness also upwards. The body consciousness is what is recognized as the kundalini, because the consciousness and energy, both are inseparable. That’s what sometimes could be experienced as energy movements. So you continue watching that one without trying to analyze, then you’ll be able to progress further.

Question: Good evening Babaji. I have a bit of a difficulty understanding the concept of visualization. That’s one question if You could please talk about that. The second is that in the case of Your Guru, Master’s experiences, when He saw the manifestation of Shiva, was that some sort of visualization? Because when He saw, nobody else saw that. So if you could please say something….

Babaji: Yes. You see a visualization has its own stages, simply I will talk about three stages. The mind’s imagination is also a quality. When you imagine a particular image, if you become obsessed with that one, that becoming obsessed with that image is what is known as devotion. So then that same picture starts appearing within your mind more and more solidly. So when you practice sadhana, in deeper meditations when it reaches half way, like a fifty percent of concentration, then a mental projection can happen. And if you do the Tapas, one hundred percent concentration happens; before the merger a manifestation also can happen. So that is what is the visualization things that happen. But ultimately all these are considered illusion only. Finally the mind has to merge with the Self. That merger in Nirvikalpa Samadhi is what the Enlightenment is. Before that all these experiences will happen. Whatever happened to My Guru, it could be His previous lives visualizations or sadhana, whatever it is. He simply saw that manifestation, and why others did not see, is because it manifested from His own visualization. But He saw it in a physically manifested way, means He was ripe to go into the Tapas. That’s how that visualization also came to Him. This is the technology.

Question: Baba, you said that it is the technology. Means, because the mind has such a strong resolution, and that resolution brings the visual effect?

Babaji: Yes. Mind has that power. See if the mind is scattered, when it visualizes, the potency power could be less. When it is becoming concentrated – suppose you are a meditator, it is becoming more and more concentrated, and as you are becoming an advanced meditator – at that time if any resolution happens, that can manifest strongly.

Question (same questioner): Yes Baba. In some of the scriptures they say that people who resolve or meditate for long hours, they develop certain siddhis and some, they say, occult powers and when they want to achieve a particular result, they can achieve that particular result through their resolution. So what You’re saying is that the mind itself has such a strong resolution capacity that either it can go to the Ultimate or it can get stuck into these visualizations?

Babaji: Yes, exactly. That is why siddhis are to be ignored during the Tapas sadhana. Means whatever you’ve resolved, that starts manifesting. But that must be ignored and surrendered to the Divinity, otherwise you’ll be stuck and the vital Enlightenment gets stopped, it will be delayed. It is all the mind, mind’s tricks. Mind is positive or the mind is negative. Mind becomes quiet or mind is in imagination. Based on the imagination only, the entire creation has happened.

Question: So similarly in our day-to-day lives when there are things that come up, desires and wants for our life and in the world, as those arise in the mind, should we let go of them then and there and surrender it?

Babaji: This will be an individual’s choice; I should not try to impose. What we normally try to teach is, having a desire itself is not a problem, it’s not a prohibited thing in this world. You have a desire and you have to put in an effort. The same thing as you wish may happen, may not happen. There is no universal law guaranteed. You might be putting in best of your efforts and you might have a certain expectation and that may not happen according to your expectation. If that does not happen, your mind is likely not to accept such a situation and go into such a frustration and disappointment, so then it gets scattered and loses its peace and happiness. That is what is alerted. You have any desires, you put in any effort, be ready to accept the results. If it happens, OK, if it does not happen, just be ready. Finally if one can overcome all desires, there is nothing like that, but it’s one’s own choice.

Question: Babaji, I would just like You to, if You could, talk a little bit about the relationship between the mind and the heart and in relation to meditation.

Babaji: Spiritually the mention of heart is the emotions that come in the mind only. That’s what it is. Actually there is no such heart situated, though very often the spiritual teachers and some scriptures have always mentioned as it existing on the right side of the chest, because whenever you mention ‘I’ you are likely to point here, some teachers have also spoken like that. It is symbolically explained, so simply the heart is the emotional feelings of the mind, that’s what it is. When you practice meditation you are taking the mind under your control. Means you’ll be able to control all your emotions. You, in fact, would be able to transcend the emotions. When the mind does not run on its own it is under your control, you are the master, you are that Self, then the mind would not go into such emotions unwanted by you, on its own.

Question (same questioner): So when you’re in a situation where you’re sort of challenged more, then what would You advise one does? Because it’s very hard then just to sit in meditation and watch, because there’s so much going on.

Babaji: I understand. Things may not be as easy as we talk. When a person lives in this world many things could be challenging. Constant practice of the spiritual exercises, like meditation, is though the final remedy. So one has to take it as a challenge and regularly practice. That is why it happens. You see for example, if a war is declared suddenly then the army cannot go on practicing the weapons. When the peace time is there they will always be exercising and practicing. That’s why every time the spiritual exercises are very important. Strongly, if you regularly practice by adopting the right technology, then you would be able to keep calm, you will be updating everyday because sometimes every day is challenging in life and you’ll be able to face things unperturbed, keeping your peace. When such a situation arises around you, simply by worrying, allowing the mind to become a victim, you are not going to change the situation. Unnecessarily, your mind also is becoming a casualty. If you start thinking positively and then try to keep the mind intact, maybe there is always a hope that you can try to handle the situation as much as possible. When it is beyond your capacity, you have to simply accept. Remember the old saying: “God, give me the courage to change the things that I can change, and give me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change”.

Question: Babaji – two questions. The first one is, when there is a state of desirelessness, and when I mean desirelessness – a non-interest in anything in particular, what it is? Is it a good thing, bad thing, what does it signify?

Babaji: Non-interest is the opposite of the interest. Through meditation when you overcome all those effects there will be neither interest nor non-interest, you will simply accept the things as it comes. Means, there is neither depression nor excitement. There will always be peace, that’s what it is. As the things come you go on doing, and whatever comes you will simply accept it. On its own if the mind does not have a desire, means, it should be peaceful and contented, it should not go into depression. That is the important thing. So if that is happening, if there is peace, then it is a good thing if a desire doesn’t arise at all. If there is a depression and if you are missing something – that is not a proper thing. There is a silky thread of difference, so people misunderstand. Vairagya does not mean going into depression. It is simply being alert of the impermanence of the things.  That is what it is. So if there is a peace and there is no desire, that is a good thing.

Question (same questioner): The second question Babaji is, how do you find the purpose of your life?

Babaji: By pondering, and through enquiring into the things. So many things are there. You see, you are born and one day the death will happen. The time between these two, birth and death, is the life. Like Shri Rama asks Vashista, “It seems the whole life we are struggling to fulfill the needs of this body, and earning a livelihood. If we do not do also we cannot sustain the body, the body will die. But when we are struggling and go on doing the things also, one day the body dies. What is this? Who are we? Why are we born?” That is how through the questions the enquiry starts happening. Like we also thought, “If there is happiness it should be always there – twelve months, twenty four hours. Why is it not there? Is there something wrong in me or something wrong in this world? And if we are that Immortal Soul, why is it that we are not aware of It?” This type of enquiry – then you will understand the purpose of life should be to become aware of your Self, that is the most important thing and the achievement of a Supreme Peace, that is also important. Your mind is looking for that peace and happiness which it had enjoyed by remaining in the Self. That is why it is always dissatisfied. But if you look into your mind, you are looking for the happiness and peace only, knowingly or unknowingly. That becomes the purpose of life, to achieve the highest and the permanent.