0:00 Introduction to newcomers from Babaji
2:06 Why should we meditate?
5:24 Why should we focus in between the eyebrows?
14:34 Why does Babaji recommend to meditate for at least 60 minutes?
17:48 Are there people for whom meditation is not advised?
19:02 Picking up habits from people we associate with
22:33 What are the qualities of a strong mind?
26:44 When you are sleepy in meditation, should we take rest, or should we keep persevering?
31:53 What to do when we feel we are not progressing in meditation?
36:13 Why is devotion technically important and how can we increase it?
38:00 Is there a proof that Divinity exists?
44:43 Can Kriya yoga help in controlling your mind
45:58 When sound is experienced in meditation
48:00 Why do people come onto the spiritual path at different times, and some never at all?
49:44 Why do we not remember our previous lives?

Discourse: Thus Spake Babaji – online Q and A No. 120
Why Meditate
Recorded: 03 December 2022 with worldwide participants

   Babaji Commences:

   If there are any newcomers, please know that you need to understand the technique first, properly, and when you do it, do it in a gentle way.  Do not be in a rush.  Because some people have written when they do this type of meditation they get headaches, and they consult somebody else, and then they are guided to something else.  So, this could be a little bit confusing sometimes.  However, there is no harm; you want to do any other technique, it will be ultimately your choice, but a little that, little there, you might get confused, that’s what is important.  Another most important thing, know you are trying to silence your mind, quieten it.  There are millions of thoughts and visions there due to mind’s imaginations, creativity.  Once it has created, it has forgotten to withdraw or stop; that is the basic problem, which can give rise to cravings and unhappiness.  To get rid of this, you have to overcome all the creative effects here.  This is the meditation session, once in a life cycle opportunity for you.  So, when you do that one, do it in a gentle way.

Start of Questions and Answers

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Thank You Babaji for giving us Your time when Your schedule is so busy all the time.  These weekly meetings is what everybody waits for each week.  Could I ask first if Babaji could explain why we should meditate?

Babaji Maharaj:   I would recommend meditation for several reasons.  One is eventually you can become the master of your mind.  Otherwise, if you have noticed, the mind might be making you to dance to its tunes.  If it goes into cravings, it can make you unhappy, if it goes into bad thoughts, it can make your mind corrupted.  If it’s a good thought, it can create excitement, and so on.  Creativity is very good.  Ability to imagine also very good, but what has happened, you are unable to stop your imaginations.  Consistently thought after thought, thought after thought is coming up and coming up; like that millions and millions of thoughts are there.  Many people even wonder whether it’s possible to stop this mind at all.  By the practice of meditation, you will be able to control your mind.  Sometimes for controlling the mind, some people might misunderstand that somebody else controlling your mind.  Not like that.  This is very scientific, technological, spirituality in truth, that you can control your mind.  Means, when you want to think you can think, when you don’t want to think you can keep your mind quiet.  Thus, you are able to lead a stress-free life, totally relaxed, at peace all the time.  Like I used to think, as a child – if the happiness is there, it should be there twelve months, twenty-four hours, once for all, no fluctuation into unhappiness or happiness, no tension, no fear, no such things.  And your memory power can increase.  In all, you can live like a genius in this world.  This is the worldly benefit.  Your focus during your effort will be the best possible way, one hundred percent focus.  Your observation power, understanding capabilities about the truth, all will tremendously increase.  And if you pursue, if you want to, you will be able to know your real Self, how you exist much beyond the birth and death of the physical body as an eternal entity which is recognized as the soul.  This will also be possible if you practice meditation.  So, that’s why I would recommend that you take up meditation every day; practice, so that you become the master of your mind. 

Question:   Thank You, Babaji.  Babaji, last week Baba was describing the technique in detail.  Could Babaji please explain why the focus is in-between the eyebrows?

Babaji Maharaj:   A couple of reasons.  First reason is, this was the technique, in this way the Jangama sage who appeared before my Guru Shivabalayogi at His age of fourteen in 1949, who emerged from the shivalingam which broke into two pieces; as He was trying to squeeze out juice that fruit took shape of a shivaling, then that shivalingam broke into two pieces and the Jangama sage was standing in front of Him.  He initiated Guru into this tapas by giving Him this technique.  He asked Swamiji to close the eyes and concentrate the mind and sight in between eyebrows and just keep watching there by focusing the attention of the mind and sight, fixing the eyeballs.  And then He asked, “Do not repeat any mantra or name, no need.” And also, third point is equally important, “Do not imagine.”  Because mind has a tendency to imagine, means analyze and make a judgment whenever it comes across anything, but without doing any analyzation work or judgments, just watching is the process.  Then only the mind will become quiet.  So thus, this technique was passed down to us by our Guru, to the next generation of His disciples.  So, we pass on this to the next generation who want to meditate.  This is one thing. 

Other benefits probably one is like I have told, getting recruited as an officer directly.  Means in this technique you are giving your mind a practice to become quiet without any external anchor.  What you have to watch is also not given – just in between eyebrows, but not that you have to watch the in-between eyebrows thing all the time, because your imagination might get generated into what it is, a darkness or a light or a figure or no figure, God or no God, and so many things might come up into the mind.  Nothing must be coming.  You just watch.  So thus, when the mind becomes quiet eventually when you follow the technique and just keep watching, directly it can go introvert and become aware of yourself as that eternal soul entity; you can become aware of that.  When all thoughts and visions get cleared, nothing is there – your existence is there.  That I have explained as the consciousness of existence.  I have also told, amongst millions of thoughts you have one thing which is a reality, not an imagination, not a thought, the consciousness of existence.  Because as you progress in meditation all thoughts and visions dissolve; the mind slowly starts becoming quiet and quiet; its agitations all decrease; it achieves silence one day, finally.  But in spite of all this, the consciousness of your own existence, you cannot make it disappear.  You are always there, that ‘I.’  So thus, that is when you become aware that you are that infinite.  Like mind, nobody has seen it in naked eyes.  You cannot show “This is the mind” or “This is what it is.”  Simply by thoughts and visions you recognize your mind, like, “I want to go there; my mind wants to do this.”  Like this you recognize the mind.  Other than that, nobody can recognize what is its shape, what is its color, where is it located, nothing can be.  So, that is the infinite form when we talk of the infinite.  So, this you are able to feel it yourself.  Only that infinite Self can feel itself; a matter cannot see that one, so that is important.  No object can see it.  Just like the space is there – it appears as a void place, nobody can see any consciousness in the space. But when you go introverted, so then you recognize the space is not simply a void place, it is the Supreme Consciousness, when the merger happens eventually.  Well, if one wants to go for this, you can pursue, practice more vigorously, more meditations. 

So, like for example my Guru used to tell, “When you are able to keep the mind quiet and totally focused here in-between eyebrows, then you can tell that ‘I am meditating.’  Till then you are trying to meditate.”  Like that when one is able to sit for eight to ten hours in a stretch, totally remaining focused, then one can do tapas.  Tapas is a word used so that eventually you burn out all habits of the mind, all acquired habits of the mind, and purify totally.  So, like this you are able to achieve these things; this is also recommended.  So, now when you silently do it, you are able to take control of your mind and you are able to know yourself, become aware of yourself, then it is just like you are driving a car, but you have total control of the car.  As long as you want to drive you drive; when the driving is done, you need to bring it to a halt and keep it in the garage.  In the same way, when you don’t want to think you can remain quiet and enjoy the peace; whenever your mind is quiet and silent, that’s when you derive the best happiness, because then it doesn’t notice anything, then no thoughts arise of any good or bad, no cravings and nothing comes, ever silent one.  Like that you are able to achieve.  

So, for these reasons we would recommend this meditation for everybody to take up so that it’s for yourself.  Like my Guru used to tell in a different way, “Having born as human beings you have a triple responsibility. One is to take care of your physical health, and using the physical body you have to take care of the mind’s health.”  Mind healthy means, when it thinks it should be able to think of a larger cause, not narrow-minded or selfishness.  We imagine this body as myself and “I want everything for this myself only”; that is selfishness.  For this we go to any extent to fall down, to belittle somebody, to attack somebody, to cheat somebody, anything we are ready to do and we justify all our actions always.  So, this is what happens – we can overcome this, and we are always be able to think a larger cause, welfare of the entire universe, all worlds, to the extent of “May all beings in all the worlds we happy”.  That’s how the sages prayed for.  They didn’t ask, “O God only let me be happy.”  So, for all these reasons we would recommend this technique which was practiced in ancient India also as one of the highest techniques of meditations.  So, though all of the techniques also may be equally respectable, honorable, but they are all like a preliminary round exercise to make the mind single-pointed.  Instead of having millions of thoughts, you try to stick to, like you want to repeat a mantra or a name of God, or any such thing, then when you repeat your mind needs to be concentrated on that.  That is your effort, that ability you have to exercise, then when it becomes single-pointed, finally, you have to abandon that mantra also to make the mind to go introvert to become aware of itself.  So, that is why we recommend this technique.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  And Babaji, is there a technical reason why Babaji recommends to meditate for sixty minutes, at least sixty minutes?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, you see, you want to cook some vegetables, it takes some time; you need to give that time.  If you lose patience – every now and then you open the cooker’s lid then open, watch it, it won’t get cooked properly.  Then you stop the flame, you try to eat a piece – “O, it is still raw.”  Then you have to do again like that.  So, that much of time. So, also in Indian culture, you see when you chant a mantra, usually 108 times, it is known as the one counting, one circle of counting it is considered.  That many times if you chant, maybe by the time you cross fifty or sixty number, your mind starts getting focused on to that mantra.  Till then it is running and  you are trying to control.  In meditation also, first thirty to forty minutes you are struggling, you are trying to control the mind, keep it quiet, you are trying to watch, but it’s running like a monkey; thousands of thoughts, millions of thoughts are getting created, past, future imagination, past brooding, “this happened, that happened, why did this happen, why not this.”  Like that, you get involved.  Final ten minutes to twenty minutes, when it warms up, it settles down, cools down.  That’s why one hour is recommended.  My Master used to be very tough.  He insisted it’s one hour from day one; that’s what He wanted.  However, we have become a little lenient for the present-day generations, try to give the idea of something is better than nothing; fifteen, twenty minutes is all right, if you can sit until that one.  Otherwise, in the beginning it can be awful.  Eventually, when you achieve, when you become used to it, when you are quiet, it can be awesome.  So, that is what is the recommended thing.  So, we would recommend this one hour for this purpose only.  Though you might do ten to twenty minutes in the beginning, slowly raise it.  Sincerely, you have to be sincere for yourself; you have to do it. And then thirty minutes, forty-five minutes, then one hour, then you get to see the best results.  Your mind becomes so less agitated, it is under your control, and you enjoy more peace, more happiness, more enjoyment.  You can sort out your own problem.  There is hardly any confusion then for you.  You know what to do, you know that you will do it or you will die; you will be a soldier going to the battlefield.  So, that’s why this timing is recommended.

Question:   Thank You Babaji. Babaji, Shivani has sent in a question.  Are there cases, are there people for whom meditation practices are not advised as they might get negative side effects in their system?

Babaji Maharaj:   Not at all.  If one understands the right technique and adopts that technique there is no question of such things happening to anybody.  When the mind becomes clear and it is absorbed, so you can be a normal person.  One hour you do every day.  When you achieve that one-hour quietness, you can be a very normal person.  In fact, you are a genius, then you can focus better – your focus, your understanding abilities and your concentrating abilities all increase, tremendously increase.  Then you can work, normal activities you can indulge; you can be anybody, you can be a householder, you can be a monk, or you can be a businessman, you can be a job holder, you can be a consultant, anything is no problem, as long as your mind is under your control.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Baba, sometimes in spirituality there’s talk of a phenomenon called contagion, that we pick up traits from people that we associate with, we pick up habits.  Could Babaji explain that please?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, satsanga is the word used in Indian culture since ancient times. Company of the noble and good is always recommended.  One can easily get brainwashed or confused if your mind is weak when others talk about it and if you have not experienced also the truth, then you are likely to get confused.  One might tell, “No, no it is not here that you have to concentrate, you have to concentrate here, you have to concentrate in the heart, you concentrate on the breath.”  Everybody would recommend their own techniques, whereas all techniques are good as long as you understand the basic idea that you have to control the mind.  It is the mind which has to become single pointed. So like that there need not be any confusion at all, but people always try to brainwash.  You try to sit with four alcoholic people; they will force you to have a little bit of alcohol and brainwash you, “Eh come on, have some.  Don’t worry, nothing will happen.  O don’t do dramas, O you are a great teetotaler.”  Like that, that’s how people get carried away. And today drugs are such a great menace for this world, for people, humans particularly, and the younger generation; everywhere in the world, in all countries it has become such a dreadful menace.  Always in the advertisement it is told, “Refuse first time, refuse at all times.  Do not accept it.”  So, when they are into that path.  Like I told jokingly, if you want my company, I always brainwash you to go into meditation and become independent.  You don’t be a slave of your own imaginations.  Try to understand and become knowing of the truth of existence, then the wonders of your mind – how your mind can cheat you; all these things you will know.  Then you know your mind the best possible way, so that’s what is definitely recommended.   Company of the good is very important always, particularly when you are doing meditation.  Unless it is absolutely necessary, like in your job place, business place, colleagues, all these things which are necessary, otherwise avoid.  Just for sake of gossiping and spending some time wasting, you are wasting your energies – as long as you don’t need that one, if you can avoid, is the best recommended thing -that you are the best friend for yourself.  Like Sri Krishna tells in Bhagavad Gita also, atman, means the soul is the best friend for the soul and soul can become the worst enemy for the soul.  So, if you are on the right path, if you remain determined, if you have a strong willpower to do it and achieve it, then you are the best friend for yourself.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Baba in that answer just then Babaji was saying that if the mind is weak.  What are the qualities of a strong mind, Baba?

Babaji Maharaj:   A strong willpower will be there, once you are convinced this is the truth, have a firm conviction.  Like for example – this world is impermanent; everybody knows this is not going to be like this forever including our own physical body.  It has changed – our body was five-year-old, ten-year-old, fifteen-year-old, teen and came to youth, twenty-year-old, thirty-year-old, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, like that.  It is changing, its shape is changing.  In the same way the world also is changing.  What it was fifty years ago, hundred years ago, so all the shapes have changed.  Everybody who has come to this world has to go away, disappear.  So, it is impermanent.  So, with that you have a firm conviction, “This is impermanent.  I must find that which is permanent, firmly which is the permanent entity.  What about me?  Am I born with this body?  Am I going to become extinct when this body dies, or am I going to exist in some other form? What is the truth after all?  I must know that, have that conviction.”  So, these are very important things.  That is the strong mind, willpower. Then nobody can brainwash you if you have a strong willpower easily.

 So, you will always have your own thinking; you would like to verify the facts and then understand.  Suppose – you know me for twenty years.  Somebody comes and tells you, “Hey Baba is no more Self-realized.  He is an idiot; he is a cheat.”  So, you will believe – that means you have a weak mind.  You don’t have a firm conviction; you have never seen Baba practically what he is, in spite of staying with him for twenty years.  So, that is the strong willpower if nothing changes – “We know our Baba, we don’t need”.   The same way from another, reciprocal. I also don’t need somebody else to tell what Dr.  Bruce Young is.  I know what Dr.  Bruce is.  I don’t need somebody to brainwash me.   That is the strong mind; that is not a weak mind.  We just don’t depend on something else, on somebody else. We depend on our own conviction, our own experience, what we have seen, that’s how. Now, that’s what in the shloka of brahmanandam paramasukhadam, vimalam ‘achalam’ word comes.  Achalam means unmoved.  Once you have seen the truth, once you know the truth, experience the truth, then nobody can move you, nobody can tell.  The whole world may stand aside and tell “There is no God.”  I won’t be moved,  I won’t get confused at all.  Because I know what that God means, what is it that we recognize it as the Divinity.  That truth we know.  Like you have seen Baba physically also in front of you, then if somebody tells, “There is no such Baba called Shiva Rudra Balayogi.  You are telling a lie Dr. Bruce.”  You won’t be moved at all.  You won’t get confused.  You will smile at that person.  That is what is the strong mind.  That’s why it is always recommended you try to gain the first-hand knowledge.  You read a book, no problem; you listen to some teachings, no problem.  They all should motivate you, inspire you, but you must get into the practice to know the truth yourself.  That’s why all the ancient teachers like us have always recommended “This is my opinion.  You practice this truth and you know the truth and then you tell your own opinion what it is, whether I’m talking right or not.”  That is the strong mind. 

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Babaji, sometimes through circumstances we might be meditating at a time when we could be sleepy.  Babaji has described sleep as specifically a state of the brain.  It’s an organ and it seems like it might need to sleep, it might get tired.  If that’s the case, is it better to just rest the brain, and then come back and meditate, or can you actually control it, can you fight it?

Babaji Maharaj:   If it becomes extremely difficult to control from falling asleep, it is recommended you sleep and take sufficient rest.  That’s why we always tell, whenever you sit for meditation you should have taken sufficient rest.  The brain must not lose its consciousness and must not make you to lose consciousness of itself or the world.  By remaining in the world, you have to withdraw the mind.  Otherwise, if the brain goes to sleep, you are detached as the mind, detached, and you become simply unconscious because there is nothing to catch.  The brain is not reflecting.  Either it might be reflecting a dream if it is minimum into activity, or if it has gone to a sound sleep nothing is reflected at all.  So, that is why it is always recommended that the brain should be alert.  When you watch, that is when you can purify your mind.  The mind can give up all its habits.  Otherwise, everybody going to sleep would have become a yogi, Self-realized, but that doesn’t happen.  Many people keep asking “Can I lie down and meditate?  Can I go to sleep and meditate?  Is sleeping also meditation?”  No, sleeping is not at all meditation.  Firmly you all must know.  You must be awake, means the brain should be alert, brain should be healthy.  It is very important.  And then you go to…   That’s why you see when alcoholics or drug addicts, they feel as if they are flying in the air, it’s only temporary tranquilizer.  That drug or the alcohol suppresses the brain waves.  When it suppresses, there is nothing to catch for the mind.  Mind temporarily experiences as if it is flying, as if it has the happiness.  The moment that medicine’s quality goes, then the brain reflections, it jumps, then it attacks the mind, then mind loses its control again.  Mind can never get purified.  

Meditation is a natural way wherein by keeping the brain very healthy you just learn to detach, keep the mind detached.  Just like when you need to press the accelerator you press, when you don’t need, you don’t press the accelerator.   When you don’t need the engine to start you keep it switched off.  So, like that you are able to keep the mind quiet.  So, it is essential that you don’t fall asleep during meditation.  You should be alert.  When you are watching you should be aware of yourself.  This is possible with the help of the brain.  That’s why probably since ancient times teachers have told, “It’s very rare gem that you have obtained a human body.  Do not let go this life, this opportunity.  There is a once in a life cycle opportunity for you to realize who you are, how you exist as that immortal soul.”  If you lose the opportunity, you lose control of yourself, you might be born anything depending on your mind, violent or non-violent thinking.  That is very, very important for yourself.  So, that’s why it is recommended you take sufficient rest.  If necessary get up, try for five minutes, stroll a little bit and wash your face, then again try to sit down, otherwise if necessary, finally you sleep for some time.  Also, for this thing you need to adopt the eating habits.  Do not eat a heavier meal at one time.  Always be careful.  Little, little, smaller meals are recommended.  Otherwise, after we tell that you take sufficient rest only then you meditate, some people might think the whole day let me keep sleeping so that I need rest.  That is not the thing.  You should take a little bit of rest and should be fresh again.  So, the food should be digested.  Food you must be able to digest.  No wind, acidity, all these problems must not occur.  So, your food must be of that quality.  You should take a little bit.   Then again whenever you are hungry, you can take little bit, so then you will be able to meditate properly.  Otherwise, it will be a hindrance for you to meditate.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.   Baba sometimes we can get into a state of mind where we feel we’re not progressing.  Or we can even just feel like it’s all uninteresting and no need to keep going, there’s no point.  What should one do if that does happen to somebody in their sadhana?

Babaji Maharaj:   First thing, you need to understand the need for yourself.  When there is a need, you will go out of way.  I have always told; you all know that you need to earn a livelihood to sustain your physical body – you won’t wait for a Guru like me to come and give you a lecture, “O you have to work.  You have to earn your livelihood.”  You will go out of way, you will set a priority.  “First thing I need to go and earn, otherwise how can I live, how can I sustain my family, how can I sustain people depending on me?”  So, you go for that.  You don’t wait for anything else.  In the same way you must understand this body is impermanent.  Any moment, any day it can happen, it’s over; the heartbeat stops and finish.  That heart is like a time bomb, in other words, just symbolically I am talking.  So, any moment if it stops, it’s over.  We won’t have any consciousness of this world.  Before that there is an opportunity, the need for peace and to know our real Self.  Because once the body goes, everybody loses control.  We don’t know what type of life will come next time, where we are going to be born, what type of world it will be.  Nobody knows, nobody has come back to tell “This is the world I’m living, you see?  That’s why you all don’t waste time.”  Nobody has come back to tell like that.  It happens, but there is a clue – it can happen depending on your thought processes that you achieve the next birth also.  Before that, when this body is available there is an opportunity.  The time, every moment goes, it won’t come back; it has gone.  There was yesterday – it cannot become today.  Today is different.  Only tomorrow will come into today, not yesterday, that’s over.  So, this understanding must be there for every human being.  We must think this earth, this world, this physical body, everything is impermanent, every day it is racing towards death, we shall not waste our time.  Like that when you understand the need then you will go for that, you will meditate.  Just like every day way of life.  Every day twenty-four hours are there, you are ready to take out eight hours, ten hours, twelve hours to earn some million rupees or a hundred rupees or a thousand dollars, anything – if you can earn you will go for that, you will not give up.  But in the same way you need peace also; you need an awareness about yourself so that you can get rid of becoming a slave to birth and death, birth and death as Adi Shankara tells “Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam,” again and again you have to die, again and again you are born, you don’t have any control over yourself.  If you don’t control your mind… that’s what He recommends.  So, understanding this, we must go for this and try to know there is once in a life-cycle opportunity that we have well-developed brain, discrimination. Crest Jewel of Discrimination is known as Viveka Choodamani of Adi Shankara.  We can think what is permanent, what is impermanent, what can give us a permanent peace and happiness that we are looking for, so we have to look into it and work for that.  We are ready to work day in and day night.  Whole day twelve hours, fourteen hours people are ready to sit in front of the computer, even in spite of that their eyes might get damaged, they might develop migraines, anything but they want to earn something, otherwise who can?  So, we have to understand this and go. 

Question:   Thank You Baba.   Babaji often speaks of the importance of devotion in the path.  Could Babaji explain why technically that is important, and how we can increase that devotion, please?

Babaji Maharaj:   Actually, devotion means, say you want to achieve Self-realization, you need to devote yourself to that cause, means totally dedicated, set a priority; every day – never say that you don’t have time, you couldn’t take out time.   As Swamiji said “In twenty-four hours, you just take out one hour, other twenty-three hours are there for you to earn your livelihood and your recreation, sleeping, rest, everything is possible.”  You take out time for so many things.  If you don’t want to meditate, you don’t want to come to the Guru, you give an excuse, “I’m sorry Baba, I have to attend a family wedding, I cannot come for the Zoom class today.”  Easily, they will write. But can you give an excuse, “I’m sorry friends I cannot come for your party, I have to attend a Zoom class today, meditation”?   You don’t feel that pride to tell like this “No, I have to go for Zoom.”  So, this is how the things change, which one you are going to give priority, importance, when you understand.  So, that’s important for you to do this one and never give up.  Achieve it for yourself.

Question:   Thank You Baba.  Babaji, before we invite people to ask small questions towards the end of the session there ‘s just one more question.  I don’t mean it to sound disrespectful Baba, but is there a proof that the Divinity exists, Baba?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yeah, you see, it is an individual, you have to see it.  Before you have to see it, you might have an imagination about Divinity, so you must know what is that Divinity.  Then seeing that Divinity is simple, as simple as it is.  You see always you all have heard it is all pervaded, omnipresent, omnipotent, like this type of terminologies.  A certain thing, a certain existence which is simply all pervading, how can it escape your eyes?  So, now it is for you to see.  Anything which is all pervading must be that Divinity, but we might have our own imaginations about Divine.  When we watch movies, since childhood we would have developed that imagination, a personality with four limbs, four hands, legs, this, that, some powerful maces, all these things, and with a silver throne, silver mukuta [crown] on the head, like this should be the personality.  Not necessary, that is not the thing.  Originally, mind, its ultimate truth is recognized as Divinity.  So, you take back the mind, you make it quiet.  As you make it quiet, it starts going towards its own source, original source.  Like if the mind is like a droplet of the ocean, its ocean is the true Divinity, an example is.  As have I told, clue is mind.  Mind is there though you don’t see it, though you cannot show it to somebody.  About your mind, only you know, nobody else can see it.  Even if you want, you cannot show it to anybody.  Whatever you tell that is in your mind, others will have to believe, have faith because they cannot penetrate “O, this is happening in the mind of Bruce.”  It’s not possible.  Brain waves can be put into the machineries, but nobody knows the mind, it is not possible; that is infinite.  So, imagine the ultimate infinity of the Divinity.  If the mind is the ten percent potency droplet, its ocean, the vastness when it is all pervaded.

 This you can see and experience in truth in your deeper meditations which is recognized as the word samadhi.  When the mind achieves total stillness, so by then it would have gone into the merger with its ultimate truth.  That is what is recognized as originally Self-realization, and then God-realization.  As long as you are a droplet, you recognize there is a God for an anchor, but how you can see is that you had to merge with that one.  For example, if you want to see the space as it is, is there anything else other than the space which can see it?  Scientifically you think – you have to become the space to see the space.  That’s why Ramakrishna said “A salt doll wanting to know the depth of the ocean; when it jumped, then it became one with the ocean.  The salt doll never was there.” So you have to become one with the space, that is the challenge. Then you will see God.  So, for this that is how it has to happen.  Everything, sitting here in this room, in your drawing room, you cannot see any planet, any stars or any such thing.  You would need a powerful telescope; the more powerful that you have, the more long-distance planets you can see, some stars you can see, suddenly black hole is discovered, that is discovered, planet discovered, but not with naked eyes – you need a powerful telescope.  In the same way this meditation enables the mind to gain that thrust power to go towards Divinity.  Then you can see that one, it’s possible.  That’s what it is.  

God is not a personality who is sitting in any place in the space.  Simply, all pervaded, as infinite as your own mind.  Mind is the only clue for infinity.  If you can think that one, there is the truth of existence.  Like other points also, you have a mind, you know that one, others may not know, they will have to simply believe you.  When they have the mind, they will also understand that there must be a mind for you also.  So, when you go and see the truth then only you will know.  A Guru can guide, inspire, motivate you, give the clues what you are supposed to do.  First you have to gain the ability.  That’s what a Guru trains.  Your mind is preoccupied with its millions of thoughts, so it is watching only thoughts, whatever it has imagined.  It’s unable to watch itself.  When the mind is unable to watch itself because of its imagination, how can it see the Divinity?  It has to gain consciousness power to watch itself first, then it can see its ultimate truth as it merges, as it goes closer and closer.  For this the Master tries to prepare the students giving clues; “Meditate like this.  Just watch, don’t bother, don’t analyze, don’t make any judgments, just watch.”  So, there is a Divinity.  You can see it.  You have to follow my instructions and the clues I have given for you all.

Question:   Thank You Babaji.  Babaji, I’ve kept Baba to myself for this time.  I’m not sure if Babaji has time to answer questions from some other people?

Babaji Maharaj:   Some people are waiting.  We’ll take about three questions.

Question:   Baba, I would like to know Your take on kriya yoga as a way of speeding up the process of controlling the mind?

Babaji Maharaj:   Any method is definitely respectable.  As I said earlier, you just know the truth that the basic idea is controlling your mind, making your mind single-pointed, and then it has to go introvert.  That’s what has to happen.  So, as long as you are not stuck on something, so you allow your mind to go introverted, that is beneficial.  However, with some method like you are talking of the kriya yoga, if you achieve your mind’s single-pointedness, that’s a great thing.  That will be helpful, then you can abandon that also, then make the mind to go introverted.  So, that is always beneficial.  Steadily, sincerely do every day as taught by your Master.  So, practice that one, then you’ll be able to achieve. 

Same Questioner:   Thank You very much Baba.  

Question:   Babaji, my question is when we do this technique like You say the “Watch the visions and images.”  Apart from images and visions, lots of sound is there – humming sound noises are there, so how do we deal with that in meditation?

Babaji Maharaj:   You see, important I have never told anybody to watch visions and thoughts.  I have just told watch in-between eyebrows.  That means anything that comes, any sound, any vision, any thought, any God, any Goddess, anything, just watch.  That’s how you will deal with it.  Do not react, do not bother, simply ignore and watch.  Your mind has to become silent.  It must not be a sound or a sight, must not be there; they both have to disappear.  Because mind is used to sound and sight – it always looks for and gets excited.  See hundred times you ask me, hundred thousand times you ask me, I will tell the same thing – you just watch, even if sound comes, just focus on it don’t bother what it is; it’s not your job.  You have not created, you have simply imagined.  Just be there, so then the meditation will be successful.

Same Questioner:   With time the voices and noises will come down?

Babaji Maharaj:   Yes, it will all go away if you just watch.  Since time immemorial, and since childhood also, you have become used to too many theories, hundred thousand theories by reading here, by listening here, by going to this Guru.  That’s why these confusions happen.  It must become silent, give up everything.  Tie everything and put it into Ganga – Jai Maa Ji Ki.  Like that, right?  God bless you.

Question:   Babaji, my question is – the Supreme Consciousness – it is within everyone.  Why don’t different people come into this meditation or sadhana at different times, and some people don’t come into this path at all, even their entire lives they don’t come into this path, so why does it happen? 

Babaji Maharaj:   See, it is something like peace can be achieved here and now itself.  Some people take their own time.  Like you can pass a degree class or any course – if four-years degree course is there, you can pass in those four years, or some people can be sitting there for forty years.  Like this, this world, this human body, anybody can meditate and achieve if only they can understand first the need, and the method, and the faith in themselves.  Faith means confidence in themselves, and then putting an effort, getting into the job, then you get it; no spoon feeding will be done.  Knowledge has no shortcuts, right?  So, that’s why to some people delay happens, some people take time, their own time; they will go around the world hundred thousand times to find their peace and happiness.  They will buy this, they will buy a home, they will buy a palace, they will try to buy a mountain, they will buy an island, they will try to become the president of a country, and they will try to become the emperor of the world.  Finally, when everything fails, their hands up, then they come for meditation.  That’s why the delay happens.  Otherwise, it can happen to anybody, anytime. 

Question:   Pranaam Babaji, what I wanted to ask was you say concentrate the mind, the mind is everything.  So, like when we wake up from a deep sleep, we  remember our family, parents, everything.  So, at the time of death what transformation does the mind go through? Surely should we not remember all this, our previous life and everything, if it’s the same mind carried forward?

Babaji Maharaj:   You see, mind is there, when death happens, brain dies.  But the mind has acquired habits since time immemorial, since previous lives also, and in this life also.  That has formed the attitude of the mind which forms intensity of thoughts during the last moment.  So, with that attitude, depending on that it assumes next birth also.  For example, clue is, this world appears to you based on your own attitude.  There is no one particular definition for the world.  A scientist can define in his own way, a poet can define in his own way, and a spiritual leader or a yogi, anything like that one, depending on your attitude.  So, depending on your attitude only, you gain the next birth also – such parents, such circumstances, such place, such basic nature you are carrying.  Everybody carries the basic nature.  That is coming from previous lives.  Like we tell, when parents have different children, they try to look after everybody equally, but yet different children pick up different temperaments, attitude, understanding capacities, and all these things vary from person to person, observation capacities.  So, that is how births happen and the satsanga, or the spirituality, like meditation, other things have been taught so that you can get rid of being born and dying again and again. Whereas the Self is really never born, never dies; only the physical body is born and it dies.  But the consciousness, the mind experiences as if it is going to die, it is going to be born.  So, to get rid of this is what is known as liberation or moksha or nirvana. Different teachers have given different terminology.  So, that is how habits makes your mind to think in the same way.  If it is habitual to think, it will get involved into the same type of thinking.  To get rid of this habit is the practice of meditation and other type of satsangas. 

End of Questions and Answers

End of Session