Perth, October 2006, Day 2

Once again offering my unconditional surrender and prostrations with deep love and reverence to my beloved Guru Shivabalayogi, considering Him my mother, father, Guru and God.

For twenty years I had a chance of once in a lifecycle to be at the Lotus Feet of such a great Yogi.  He taught me not just like in a classroom – it was like being on a football field. At every point, at every moment it is possible to do sadhana – He emphasised ‘sadhana’. In spirituality ‘sadhana’ means your efforts to control the mind.

For one viewpoint the mind is a bundle of thoughts; for another viewpoint, it is your conscious energy. It is the purpose of life to use this conscious energy to find your real Self beyond creation. Every being is looking for happiness; to find it we need to follow a path. The path we follow could be either right or wrong. A right path will lead us straight to the goal; if we follow the wrong path then we will simply go on and on – around and around. So we need a guide to go on the correct path.

I have not studied much; I searched instead for direct experience. For instance if you want to experience this hall then you need to come here physically and see what it is and what is available here. In that same way if you wanted to know about Baba you might read some information – some brochures or the website. But that would not give you the complete experience. You need to come here and then you will know about Baba.

So in this way, Krishna teaches in the Bhagavad Gita, “Oh Arjuna! Before Death shall claim thee, go to the knowers of the Truth. Then you can know the secret of birth, death, happiness, unhappiness. “

In the same way this happened to Lord Buddha. His father kept him away from the things of the world. But one day he went out on his chariot and was going around the town. He saw a person who was ill, an old person and a dead person. These things troubled him. “Why should a person become old, sick? Why should a person die? These things come and go – is there any way to overcome these?” This stage is called ‘purushat’ – the need to know the root-cause of all these things.

So Krishna says, “Before death shall claim this body, go to the knowers of the Truth. Sitting at the Lotus Feet of such people, with reverence, by asking intelligent questions and following the teachings and putting in efforts to gain the goal, you can attain That.” Arjuna replies, “The mind is very slippery like a monkey. Please forgive me for asking this question – How can I control the mind?” “By practice!” Shri Krishna replies. “By repeated efforts to achieve this goal, you CAN attain.”

In the same way, our Guru taught that one must do sadhana, and continue until the mind is controlled. Sadhana  is simply your efforts to achieve this. Just like a cook will keep going until the food is cooked properly, in the same way the mind needs to be ‘cooked’ properly. We need to practice controlling the mind. As I told you yesterday, if you pay attention to the mind, it will come under control. So instead of paying all the attention to the visions of the mind, pay attention to the mind itself. So we tell in the instructions for the meditation, “Do not think anything.”

The mind has a tendency to think and crave. Its attention at present tends to be out in the world, in the creation. During meditation if visions come, when thoughts come, just keep quiet and watch them; then the mind becomes quiet very easily. This is one of the greatest secrets of mind control.

The mind is looking for this Peace itself even if it doesn’t realize it – that is why it keeps jumping as it does. So when you sit to meditate, resolve simply, “I am here to meditate.” So follow these instructions. This is true Surrender.

Also the eyeballs have to come, focussed, between the eyebrows. If you hold the attention there, then this will come – the eyeballs will come automatically. 

Thoughts will come. It is like garbage being thrown out. Do not pay them attention or judge if they are good or bad. This is how Ashtavakra taught Samadhi  to King Janaka. Janaka had challenged all the teachers who came to him that they should give him Samadhi  in the time it took him to mount his horse. When people ask me how to concentrate, they similarly ask like this. It is because of the attitude that a person can succeed. If you say, “I must get this secret,” then it is easy to control the mind.

And there is another thing – we are in a rush. Apart from Dedication – you need to take out time and put in effort if you want Peace – and also Discipline – you need to practice regularly. A also you need Patience. We want it instantly. The speed depends on the will-power employed; if greater will-power is employed then it comes more quickly.

In the story of King Janaka, the sage Ashtavakra had heard the scriptures being recited by his father while he was still in the womb. He absorbed the knowledge and attained Self Realization by the time he was 12 years of age. He was born with eight deformities in his body which he was called ‘ashta‘ meaning ‘eight’ and ‘vakra‘ meaning ‘deformity’. Because of these deformities of the body he did not walk into the king’s court, but instead he rolled. Seeing this, the courtiers started laughing. Hearing this, in turn Ashtavakra started laughing. “They are laughing at this physical body thinking that it is me; but I am beyond this.” Hearing this, King Janaka thought, “This must be a Great Soul” and so he approached Ashtavakra and asked him as he had asked the other teachers, “Can you teach me Samadhi instantly?’

The sage replied, “Yes. But you must listen carefully and pay all your attention to what I say.” The horse was brought and the king prepared to mount it, but just as he was bringing up his leg to mount the horse, Ashtavakra told him, “Quiet!’  Immediately the king went quiet – physically he stopped in the act of mounting the horse, and his mind also became quiet, and immediately achieved that Supreme Peace.

So we need to not just go here and there continually when following the path. We need to take one method and follow it fully.

I invite you now to come for the vibhuti  blessing and I will also teach some breathing exercises which should also be taken slowly and carefully, in a relaxed manner.

Questions and Answers

Question:

Sometimes I feel almost guilty that I have been exposed to this knowledge and wisdom at such a young age.

Babaji:

One should not feel guilty – it is of no use to anyone. Also your mind might become disturbed. One should remember that if you can become expert at this, then you will be able to help others also. If one simply worries it is no help. But if you put in efforts one can help society.

Question:

If we come in contact with others, should we tell them about You and these teachings?

Babaji:

One can try to inspire them to come to the programs perhaps. If they are interested, they might come. Whoever is interested, whoever is blessed will come; they are destined to come.

Question:

In Your discussion earlier You mentioned ‘seriousness’ often. Could You please speak more about ‘seriousness’?

Babaji:

I was speaking of a seriousness to learn and one being serious to practice the teachings. This is not a worrying; if one is ‘serious’ then one will pay proper attention to the practice and the teachings and will take time out to practice.

This ‘seriousness’ is not a depression or a worrying.

 Question:

We often hear the expression, “God is within you.”

Babaji:

It is not that He is limited to the physical body. He is that Pure Consciousness. Like a droplet to the ocean, this droplet – the mind – has to go back and be absorbed in that. This is ‘Moksha’, ‘Nirvana’ – there are various terms for this. So all these technologies are to concentrate the mind. When it is distracted, the consciousness spreads out and then all the happiness or unhappiness appears to be happening to you only. It is like when you are watching a movie, and then you get involved in the movie, and suddenly someone comes and pats you and reminds you, “It is just a movie.”

In one of the temples in India there are two mirrors placed opposite to each other. Then when looks in the mirror, the images seem to go on and on forever – actually it is just two mirrors.

In the same way with the Guru and Disciple, God and Creation – when it merges, all are only one.

Question:

You have talked about Discipline. Can Discipline become an obligation rather than a freedom?

Babaji:

If you define ‘Discipline’ / ‘Duty’ with the mind, then it becomes an obligation. The best example is in the epic Mahabharata in the story of the disrobing of Draupadi.

So many Great Ones were there – Bheeshma, Drona and so on. They had all defined their dharma, their duty, in a particular way.

Bheeshma said, “I must follow the king.” Drona, “I have eaten in the kings’ house, so I must support him.” Yudhishthira said, “I have lost her in the game.” Still, he could have protected Draupadi simply as a human being, if not as his wife.

Several times, still now, we see people try to define our duty, our discipline in this or that way. But if one takes up meditation, one gains the ability to see the larger cause. In the court in the story from the Mahabharata, everyone was only thinking about themselves.

But Krishna was guided by the larger cause. So when Arjuna on the battlefield said, “I will not fight”, Krishna said “I have said I won’t fight, but for a larger cause I will take up my weapons.”

Discipline is also needed to achieve an end. Hence in my five years Tapas  I was able to stay in the room without leaving, but I decided if needed, I would leave if it was for a larger cause. Then when my mother passed away, I did not leave the room for her funeral; she had said that I should finish the Tapas.

In the same way there is a story of Ramanacharya. His Guru had initiated him into a mantra  which his Guru had said would give Liberation if repeated as a sadhana, but if he told it to anyone else, he would go to hell. Hearing this he went up on top of the temple and started crying out the mantra for everyone to hear.

His Guru was surprised. “Why did you scream out this mantra for everyone when I had told you that you would go to hell if you passed it on?”

“My dearest Guru, if all these people can get Liberated this way, it is no problem if I go to hell.” See, he was working for a larger cause.

Copyright © 2006 SRBY, All rights reserved