0:00 Intro
0:10 What does Babaji mean by the ‘tricks of the mind’?
1:39 Are the tricks of the mind connected to expectations?
2:47 On the path to achieving liberation, is everything in the mind a test to keep quiet?
6:35 If we go on rejecting what is not the truth, does that bring us closer to the truth?
7:52 Is it through meditation that we de-hypnotize the mind?
11:22 Is it surrender when we realise we don’t really know anything?
12:59 Do we need to have a yearning for the truth in order to overcome the tricks of the mind?
15:06 Is the resolution to ‘do or die’ needed to overcome the highest test?
19:18 What does Babaji mean by applying the brakes to the mind?
22:30 Is control of the mind the same as total freedom?
24:05 Does the ego exist as a separate thing or is it a bundle of habits?
24:47 Does the yearning for the Truth happen naturally?
26:36 How to deal with the procrastination of the mind?
28:00 When we ask a question to Babaji, who is the ‘You’ that is answering?

Discourse: Thus Spake Babaji – online Q and A No. 110
The Tricks of the Mind
Recorded: 01 October 2022 with worldwide participants

Start of Questions and Answers

Question:   Babaji mentions this phrase “The tricks of the mind,” but what does Babaji mean by that?

Babaji Maharaj:   Ah, you see, mind imagines, and the same mind, believes whatever it has imagined, that as the truth, whereas an imagined thing cannot be the truth.  Truth is, when all imaginations stop.  Like I have always told, mind thinks. When it thinks, a thought appears.  Watching that thought, mind forgets that this thought is there because of my imagination.  Instead, the mind considers that thought to be a fundamental reality.  That’s how we always commonly tell the example, a friend might appear as a foe, and a foe might appear as a friend.  That’s how it tricks itself.  This is what is known as illusions, one of the definitions of illusion, making you to believe a certain thing which does not exist.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Is that connected to expectations in life so that we expect things to be in a certain way, where they don’t meet that expectation, we become upset or affected?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, exactly.  That is how usually we humans go into a head-on collision with this universe, world – means not physically I’m talking – if something else is happening, the mind expects something else.  And if the mind, whatever it expects, such a thing if it doesn’t happen, mind feels disappointed.  And it goes on revolving its imagination, imagination, and then it experiences the happiness and unhappiness when it goes into such cravings.  So, these cravings of the mind with imagination are the basic reason for all unhappiness, tension and fear.  So, this is what happens.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  And on the path to achieving peace and liberation, is everything in the mind a test for us to keep quiet, like anything that comes up in the mind?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, mind has become habitual to recognize an existence or imagine an existence and then analyze on that existence about which it has imagined, then making judgments; “This is good, this is bad”.  So, once it decides “This is a bad thing” then it becomes unhappy with that bad thing.  So, both are its own imaginations.  To think about a certain thing as bad was also the imagination of the mind.  And to become unhappy with that imagination was also of the mind’s imagination.  Thus, it has added further imagination. Thus, imagination after imagination gets added, thought after thought comes, millions of thoughts happen; that goes into cravings.  So that can generate further anger, disappointment, all these things unnecessarily.  So the mind loses its peace.  So it is unable to pursue the truth, truth of existence.  So it has to become quiet first, then it might be able to see the truth.  Often, what you see in front of you itself, the mind might trick, it might fool you into believing something else, something else is happening, something else happened.  Suppose two people are talking at a distance.  And you can imagine that they are talking something against you and you can lose your temper.  So, it need not be so. They might be talking something else, and you didn’t pay attention to the entire conversations.  And then you simply wildly imagine that something has happened.  So, this is how you trick yourself. 

So, this is what Krishna has said in Bhagavad Gita, “The atman is the enemy of the atman.  And the atman is the friend of atman.”  Atman means here, self – yourself. You are your best friend, you are your worst enemy.  By imaginations things can appear.  So, you have to overcome this imagination, stop and once for all get rid of this imagination, to know what the truth is.  So, that is why Adi Shankara also tells, “When you come face to face in your consciousness, …” here it has been mentioned as consciousness not as mind.  Because, when there is no imagination, no thoughts or visions are there, it is pure consciousness.  So, “you come face to face in your consciousness, and when that consciousness is not into any type of imagination, know that existence as the truth.”  The rest is all imagined.  We imagine, and we lose temper. We imagine, and we become greedy. We imagine, and we become jealous. We imagine, we lose peace. We imagine, we become unhappy.  Like that, we imagine and become everything, which is not necessary.  That is how our own mind tricks ourselves; the mind tricks itself.

Question:   So Babaji, once we’ve imagined something, then is it necessary… like, there is a teaching called “neti neti,” where you say “this is not the truth and this is not the truth”.  So, if we go on thinking that “this is not the truth”, does that bring us closer to the actual truth?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, the mind needs to analyze in the proper way by applying the wisdom.  “This is only an imagination that has cropped up in my mind and need not be the truth.”  Just now this person is appearing to me as a foe, as an enemy, as a wrongdoer; that is because my mind is telling so.  Because my mind is telling, it need not be the truth, the truth can be something else.  So, unnecessarily I might be imagining wildly.  So, I might be tricking myself.  Like that, wisdom application is needed, then you come closer to the truth.  Slowly, slowly, you try to understand what the truth could have been.  So, then you realize that there was nothing at all.

Question:   Babaji talks about the hypnotizing effects of the mind.  Is it through meditation that we de-hypnotize this mind?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, the very idea of meditation is, first you have to de-hypnotize yourself, means whatever you have imagined and taken it as an imprint which has become the acquired habits of your mind.  So, all the time it can be making you insecure, and doubt each and every one unnecessarily.  You can be doubting yourself, you can be doubting your God, or you can be doubting your Guru, anything can happen.  So, for that you have to stop this imagination.  Means by imagining like that you have hypnotized yourself.  Now you de-hypnotize, just by watching in-between eyebrows, and not trying to do anything; you will not analyze –  That’s what Master repeatedly talks in the instructions and the guidance about meditation, “Do not imagine about anything.  If any thoughts or visions are coming in the mind, do not analyze about them, don’t try to decide what it is.  You may not know what it is”, like that.  

Here another point, I have also told the entire world in any field through science, technology or spirituality, anything for sake of communication, or in the worldly understanding we have to use the nearest imagination possible.  Nobody knows what the truth is.  We call it a world because we need to communicate with each other, understand in our own way.  So, we have to imagine something.  We have called earth as earth so that that is how we can communicate, otherwise we won’t be able to communicate.  If I want to talk something about this, our planet Earth, if I have not named it, so how will I… I have to simply, simply signal, signal like this; it can be confusing.  So, for that reason, we have named this as Earth, planet Earth.  And you have also accepted – “Okay, I also accept this as planet Earth.”   So, when we both talk to each other, we talk about “We all live on this planet Earth, we are all one on this earth.”  Like that we talk.  But that Earth is an imagined terminology.  Like this, everything is imagination. 

In fact, I have told even when a Self-realized Master like us, wants to teach the truth, uses the nearest imagination possible.  Final truth the Master says, “You find it to yourself.  You do the sadhana.  You get rid of all imaginations that which has tricked your own consciousness, which need not be the truth.”  So, you have to practice that meditation, get rid of all imaginations, de-hypnotize yourself.  And then the truth is revealed.  Not until then. Until then, only a dislike, a hatred, a greed, jealousy, these types of things keep cropping up in the mind, and we become a victim of that one.

Question:   So, Babaji is it a kind of surrender really, when we realize we don’t know anything, really.  And we just simply surrender to that?

Babaji Maharaj:   Exactly. When we realize, we actually did not know anything, but we imagined.  Once we imagined, we even forgot that we have imagined, and we have been behaving all sorts of things in every way, simply based on our own imagination.  So, we need to get rid of this.  That means we surrender these imaginations, become quiet.  So, that is when you become quiet, and we realize we actually don’t know anything what it is.  So, like any incident happens in our life, we don’t know why it has happened.  We become quiet.  That’s it.  Instead, we try to analyze, we end up imagining wildly – we tell,“This has happened, this is because of this thing, that is because of this thing.”  All imaginations – unnecessarily we go into conflict.  Countries have fought wars, all with unnecessarily imagination, everything.  They don’t realize it’s only imagination.  So, like that when we realize, we surrender, all thoughts and visions we surrender.  That’s what precisely you are trying to do in meditation.  You’re trying to surrender all your thoughts, analyzations and judgments and you’re trying to become quiet thus.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  So, Babaji, do we need to have a yearning for the truth in order to overcome all the tricks of our mind?  Do we need to have that yearning?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, definitely.  Yearning is very necessary.  Only such a person goes for the truth.  If it is not there, no matter hundred thousand times we keep talking in the upadesha, means in the teachings, “You go for the truth, try to know what is the truth about yourself, what you are all imagining need not be the truth, truth can be something else.”  So, when you start practicing meditation also, we say, “Do not try to imagine about Divinity about the truth, of what it is, then you will keep expecting only such experiences.”  Say you read a book.  A book reading is recommended, highest teachings if it is there, but you use it to motivate yourself, to feel inspired, “Oh, this is what I’m supposed to do.  I have to become quiet.”  That you have to understand.  So, now put effort to become quiet, that is necessary.  So then only you will be able to know what the truth is. 

The Master recommends, “Know the truth about yourself, know the truth about everything.”  Once you know the truth about yourself, you will know everything else – when you become quiet –  “This is what it is.”  This is there.  The universe is there; we call it universe for sake of our understanding.  So, when we talk, let us address it.  This universe is impermanent.  It keeps changing its shape.  But nobody knows what it is.  It might have been there all the time or it might not be there; simply might be our own imagination whatever it is.  What it is is our imagination – that we have to surrender.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  And Babaji mentioned that He had the idea in his mind of ‘do or die’ in his tapas.  Is that the highest test that we undertake?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, because tests come, and our own motivation is tested.  Mental stamina is very much necessary.  And once we develop a faith, that faith is of self-respect; we should not lose that faith.  That faith must not depend on somebody else’s behavior or our own imagination.  That is not faith.  A faith means we love, and this is it, we will do it – do that sadhana.  I have always told, as a physical body I may not be that important.  What am I teaching is important.  You meditate, that is important for you.  Even if you don’t want to believe me, if you don’t want to have any faith in this body as a personality, that is all you can see; you cannot see me actually.   Watching this body, you will recognize whether as a good person or a bad person, or whatever it is, like that you imagine – that is no problem.  That is not important at all.  But what I’m teaching – meditate!  Your own meditation is important.  Simply, if you meditate, it will take you to better heights, make you more mature; you don’t have to feel ashamed or sad, or bad, anything about it.  Meditation, it is not created by me.  It is not that today I am specially newly teaching that one.  That is coming since ancient times.  Our Gurus taught us, the Divine gave us that technique.  Simply, that technique I’m giving you.  You just meditate, have faith in yourself.  You don’t have to bother about this body or personality, whether this is good or bad, whatever it is, so we can look into that.  Otherwise, if you keep analyzing this as a good or bad, you’re wasting your time, energies are being wasted.  Your imagination goes into wild and spinning, wild and wild.  Why do you want to do this?  Meditate and know yourself. 

Precious time is there; that yearning is to be there; that yearning “I want only Self-realization, no compromising.  Nothing bothers me.  Whatever one behaves, whatever one talks, I will be in myself, I will reside in myself.  Whether somebody certifies me or removes that certification, that’s no problem for me, I can always remain in myself; that is my job, I have to remain in myself.”  Like that, you all also think that you have to abide in yourself; practice that one, then you will know the truth.  For this, “Do or die.”  That’s what Swamiji taught us, my Guru taught us, it must be a matter of self-respect.  I am meditating – under any circumstances I meditate. Even if the Guru is bad, I will meditate.  Even if the Guru is good, I will meditate. Any other people is not taking up meditation, I will meditate. Some of my friends are giving up their meditation, I will meditate. I will do it or I will die.  Like Swamiji said, “If I have to do twelve years, no problem then I will do it twelve years.  Only death of the physical body can stop that practice.”  That is the “Do or die” attitude.  When Swamiji made me to sit for tapas, He said “You come out as a yogi, or your dead body must come out.”  That is the “Do or die.”  Do not give up, never abandon.  So, that is the trick of the mind you must not listen to.  You must do or die.  The soldier knows either he will do it or die, so he will not give up.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  So, Babaji mentions also about pressing on the accelerator pedal.  By imagining everything, we press the accelerator but we don’t know how to use the brake.  So, could Babaji explain this ‘using the brake.’  Does that mean us not generating thoughts unnecessarily, is that what ‘brake’ is?

Babaji Maharaj:   Because pressing the accelerator  also you have to think and press.  To stop that thought on the accelerator, you have to think of applying a brake, and brake.  Well, then you go on practicing. After some time you will see that even to press the accelerator or to press the brake, for both you don’t have to think.  By practice, mechanically your body does it.  Mentally, you don’t have to be thinking; you just have to be watching on the road so that you don’t hit your vehicle on anything else.  As you press the accelerator and start the vehicle to move, once you press, then the vehicle moves automatically.  But you need to have control over that.  Whenever, wherever necessary, you may need to apply the brakes.  Otherwise, you can be disastrous for yourself, dangerous for somebody else on the road.  That’s what happens.  When you wildly imagine unnecessarily, and you might be disastrous for yourself.  And you can try to influence somebody else and create danger for the other person also.  You are also losing the path; you’re trying to make another also to lose the path. 

In the same way here, you have pressed the accelerator.  If you don’t have control, you might be hitting somebody else who is going safely on the road; that person is driving well, but because of your rash driving, misdriving, you might create an accidental hit between both.  So that’s what happens.  That’s why you must know when and where to apply the brake.  That’s what it is.   You think, no problem.  But you should not continue thinking and you don’t know how to stop that thinking; that is bad.  You must know how to stop that thinking, you must know how to keep the mind quiet.  When you want to think you should be able to think, when you don’t want to think you should be able to keep quiet.  That is the mind.  That’s what you can practice, means when you practice meditation, you are not losing the ability to think and live in this world, you can always think.  Simply you are gaining control over yourself.  Now, you are matured, you know when to think and once the thinking is done, when not to think also you know, that is the wisdom.  So that is how you have to practice both.  Applying accelerator, pressing the accelerator and pressing the brake are equally necessary.

Question:   So, this control that Babaji talks about, is that the same as having total freedom in your mind as well, because you have the freedom to use in any way you want to?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah.  So, now you suppose you are an expert.  You know how to use the mind, means you think and you know when, how to stop that thought also.  You won’t allow that thought to engulf you into making you to believe that thought to be the truth.  You will simply think “Now I have to go to Baba.  I must sit in the Zoom class.  I need to meditate and it is for myself.  I’m not going to help Babaji in any way.  I will be helping myself.”  Like that you have to think.  And that’s enough.  After thinking, you come and sit in the Zoom class and join this meditation and meditate.  So, you don’t keep thinking, “Oh, I have to go to Zoom, I have to go to Zoom.  Today I am unable to go to Zoom.”  Then you don’t come to Zoom.  You keep thinking.  So that’s how you need to have a control over you or yourself.  Also, when such a controlled mind thinks, it thinks in the right direction of a larger cause, of a betterment.  You won’t be fooling yourself anymore.  You won’t allow your mind to trick itself anymore.  You are now expert.  You know how to stop the thought and then get into the job.  Get into the work, get into the sadhana.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Babaji, a couple of questions have just come in.  This one’s from Henry.  Does the ego exist as a separate thing?  Or is it more like a bundle of habits?

Babaji Maharaj:   Whatever thought arises, and if we hold on to that thought as the fundamental reality, that is to be considered a basic definition for ego.  Because stubbornly the mind thinks only in that direction; the truth might be something else.  So that is within the mind only.

Question:   Another question from Kalpana.  Babaji mentioned about the yearning for the truth.  Does this yearning happen naturally?  Or how does this happen in a person’s life?

Babaji Maharaj:   You see, I have always told very favoritely one example.  Suppose you suddenly realize there is a time bomb under your chair where you’re sitting, then the yearning automatically happens; you would go out of your way to save yourself.  You won’t wait for any inspiration, motivation, anything.  So that’s what you need to understand – impermanence of the world, impermanence of the body.  Heart is there, it’s beating like a time bomb, any moment it can stop, and that’s it – over!  Before that, we have an opportunity to know ourselves, how we exist as the immortal soul, eternal entity in supreme peace.  Rest of all we have simply imagined – we were wasting our time. It was like we were in a mental asylum, imagining our own things.  When we come out of that one, when we realize, it is like coming out of a mental asylum.  If you realize this thing, the yearning will automatically come.  You cannot afford to waste even a moment.

Question:   So, is it Babaji that we realize that we have bound ourselves with all of our imaginations, and that we just want to be liberated from such imaginations?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, we have binded ourselves by the rule of our own imagination.  We simply need to overcome that imagination and liberate ourselves.  That’s it.

Same Questioner:   Thank You very much Babaji.

Question:   How to deal with the procrastination?  Like, my mind is getting excuses to sit to meditate.  But every day I’m following the practice but not in a regular time.  But it’s asking some excuse, let’s do it evening, or afternoon.  So, these kinds of things, how to how to train my mind to do that properly?

Babaji Maharaj:   That’s why you have to understand the impermanence of the world.  Think that in the next one hour you are going to die and you have only forty-five minutes to meditate.  You will meditate at that time, no excuse will be given for that.  You don’t have to die.  I’m just telling it as an example.  Think yourself, “It is all going to be finished.  I must meditate now.  Now, here, today itself I need.”   Like Nachiketa asked, so Yama Dharmaraja said “You go to world for five thousand years, live like an emperor, enjoy the world.”   He (Nachiketa) says “After five thousand years is there anything to stop me from coming back to you?”   “No,” Yama says,  “You have to come back.  That time will pass by like anything, five thousand years.”  (Nachiketa:) “So give that knowledge here and now itself.”  So, like that you ask yourself, then you will meditate.  First you meditate, then take your food afterwards.  Good boy.

Babaji Maharaj:   Sri Krishna, it’s your choice please.

Question:   Pranaam Babaji.  So, from time to time You speak about how You answer the questions.  And I’m wondering, who is this You that is answering the questions?

Babaji Maharaj:   That ‘You’ doesn’t have any identity at all, simply one single Self exists that asks, that answers, that understands, that ignores – all these things happen in one imagination only.  So that’s what you will realize when you totally become quiet in your mind.  Then only you will realize.  There is no separate entity to know what this ‘You’ is.  It is you only.  You only want to ask; you only want to know.

Same questioner:   There’s a term called Lesha Vidya, the remains of ignorance.  And I’m wondering is there any particular nature to this lesha vidya in the enlightened person?  How are they different from the average non-enlightened person?

Babaji Maharaj:   In a non-enlightened person, he would be imagining as if he doesn’t have that.  Whereas he is there, he is that.  That very supreme peace he is looking for is he himself.  Simply, he has to become quiet.  Two things he has to understand – he must not have any desires, and he must remain contented.  This is possible only when you don’t need anything for your existence.  These three realizations if it occurs, you become quiet.

End of Questions and Answers

End of Session