Philadelphia, 13th June 2012

– Part 2

Peace, that is what everybody is looking for in this world. Whatever we try to do, we want happiness and peace. But we are unable to achieve that peace.

Somebody, who was about sixty-four years age, one day he came, and was seeking blessings from my Master, asking Swamiji, “I haven’t been able to settle in the business, please bless me.” Swamiji rebuked and ridiculed him, “Has the business allowed anyone to settle down ever? What nonsense, you are sixty-four years old and you have not yet settled in life at peace! When are you going to? Practice meditation and know yourself, then you will be able to settle down. It is not the business which will make you to settle down. You can be a businessman until a hundred years if you are going to live, but at least you will be able to settle down peacefully if you practice meditation,” He said.

That’s how this world also has not allowed anybody to settle down in peace. When we go to this world with desire, with wanting for happiness, it is never to be achieved. The mind doesn’t stop anywhere, because everything is impermanent. The body itself is impermanent. So that is why this meditation is taught, is recommended. So slowly, you make this, which has become a mind now because of its imagination, labelling idea effects, make it quiet, at peace and purified, means give up all its wrong habits that it has conditioned itself since time immemorial with judgements. How to do this one is the meditation.

When the mind is just looking it is not thinking.

When you practice the watching process, looking and observing; this is the most important point that you need to learn if you want to successfully keep meditating and achieve that peace. Because when the mind is just looking, it is not thinking. Both cannot happen with a hundred per cent concentration. Either it becomes preoccupied with its thinking or it becomes preoccupied with looking. When it is looking, that is when it becomes quiet eventually. By practice-habit – when a certain thing has become habitual to the mind, we need to make it give up that habit, and bring it to its origin. To make it give up that habit, we can take the help of a strong habit, of a determined thinking, “I need to do this, I must go for that one.”

So thus, as I was talking in the beginning, as the consciousness has come away from its Mother Consciousness and has become slowly diluted, diluted, diluted, it has lost its power to be at peace, to be able to think properly, to take proper judgements or decisions. Very often we come with the questions of indecision in life because people always want to be successful whatever they do. They don’t want to be unsuccessful. They are afraid. But nobody can know what is going to happen tomorrow. They can be so many other fields which try to note what is going to happen tomorrow. And we simply lose our dollars, our money when we want to know that. “Somebody will give me five hundred dollars I will tell you what will happen.” He will tell you something, either a positive or a negative, something colorful, some this, some that. It happens or not, he is not going to be there tomorrow. You will be there.

You know that you have to get up and you have to work for yourself, you have to earn your bread, everything you know. That’s what Swamiji used to tell. “You don’t need somebody else to talk about your future. If you are positive, you can shape a positive future for yourself, a positive future. Be practical in life, try to see the Truth.” That is what He emphasized.

The important thing is we shall never feel distracted, disturbed, disappointed, frustrated in life, whatever happens.

Always when you practice meditation, you will be able to know your future. That means you will know. Future means not what is going to happen tomorrow – you will not be worried about the future, just like a soldier knows what is going to happen. Either of the two, that’s it, simple. Either we will be successful, or we will not be successful, no problem, we will try again. Always we were taught – everybody knows this old saying, “First failure is the beginning of success.” It means the important thing is we shall never feel distracted, disturbed, disappointed, frustrated in life, whatever happens. That attitude can be built up when we practice meditation.

Slowly, this mind, which has become diluted, when it becomes purified, it starts going back to its mothership, mother, mother, mother and it gains its momentum. As it goes, it gains that power of better judgement, taking better decisions, better thoughts come, strong and higher quality thoughts come always, that is the benefit in your life that you can derive. Thus you can live a stress free life and you know.

That is what often my Master spoke about the soldier, meaning when he goes to the battlefield, he is not confused. That is the first important thing. He is putting in effort. Though he will be putting in an effort to win, he knows, either I will do it, or I will die. Both are acceptable and it’s no problem. That’s what my Master used to say, “No need to know any future. Simply be ready, if it happens it happens, you will try again, it will happen the day after, another day it will happen. Why are you so much worried? Are you going to be hanged in the early morning? You appear to be so perturbed.” That is how He pulled up people, when they used to come with so much of worries, for blessings, “This is not happening, I don’t know what will happen.” Nothing is going to happen, you are all right. Just don’t feel disappointed, put in effort. If you practice meditation, your efforts will be totally concentrated. You will be more focused.

These are the essential points of meditation that we need to understand.   Sometimes people try to expect wrong experiences. They tell, “No experience is happening at all,” meaning a great vision has to come, something has to appear, we need to travel to some other world, this type of wrong experiences. They are all simply imaginations, projections and manifestations. Not a reality. The reality is your existence as the Supreme Consciousness, the purest form. Your own existence is the greatest wonder. As the Immortal Soul, as the Eternal Existence. That is possible to become aware of, when you practice this meditation regularly.

So when you are practicing, remember the points of watching, looking, and observing. When the mind is made to observe and just watch, then it is no more into the judgements, analyzing or recognizing anything else. Then eventually when you are silently trying to watch, you will realize that the mind is trying to watch itself. When it gains that moment of watching itself, then it becomes Pure Consciousness. Then eventually you are simply in yourself. Don’t have to watch also anything. At the beginning you watch your thoughts so that they all get evaporated. If you are simply watching, if you don’t recognize a thought, if you don’t analyze. If you recognize and start analyzing, “Why is this here,” like when you think, thoughts appear.

When you close the eyes, it is a purification process that starts happening, practically and in reality. The mind gets applied to the brain and all the habits that are in the mind, in the subconscious state that we try to recognize, its habits, they all come up and get evaporated and purified as the mind gives up all its such habits and turns into a Pure Consciousness of its Origin. When it is happening, like the garbage is being thrown out, you are forced to watch that thought process and the visions that come. In the beginning it could be dreadful and awful whatever it is, then slowly it can turn good, better, all those things also happen. So your ability to remain looking and watching all the time – neither we are getting attracted to this or that, either way. Because we want to go back to our Real Self, we want to achieve peace, all the time. That is what is needed.

It will become very tasteful, enjoyable, because the mind starts becoming peaceful, at ease, it gives up all its wrong habits of imagining and thinking, imagining and thinking.

So that is the technique and the meditation that you have to observe. Then meditation becomes smooth and very ‘tasteful’ is what my Master used to tell. ‘Ruchi’. ‘Ruchi’ means ‘taste,’ ‘tasteful.’ It will become very tasteful, enjoyable, because the mind starts becoming peaceful, at ease, it gives up all its wrong habits of imagining and thinking, imagining and thinking. But when it happens, you will be a normal person in this world, you are not going to lose any of the powers of your mind. Instead, it will regain its tremendous inner power, that inner truth, and then you will see from the inside of that deep, of the truth. The right things coming always, you will be able to take a better decision, a better thinking, a larger cause, better understanding, better judgement, no more confusion. That is how the focused thing would be there. That is what one can achieve for this world, and eventually if you pursue on this path, you can become aware. That is what is known as the Self- Realization, Nirvana, Moksha, Liberation, Enlightement, everything is for this. ‘Atma Sakshatkara’ means the Self Realization is the word used, means, you become aware of your Real Self of what you are. How you exist beyond the birth and death of this physical body.

So these are some of the points. In a short while, I would invite you all to come for the blessed vibhuti blessings. Vibhuti is the sacred holy ash. This is sanctified. It is a symbol of devotion, to feel the presence of the Master. Also, vibhuti means ‘The existence beyond imagination, beyond the imagined individual self.’ ‘Bhut-atma,’ ‘Bhuta’ means ‘the imagined individual self,’ like you would have imagined about yourself as the body and this body belongs to a certain country, to a certain area, to a certain town, to a certain caste, creed, religion and what-not. Hundreds of status’, everything. We would have imagined all those things which would have been sitting as the subtle bodies in the mind, consciousness. So you would be able to give up all such things. The mind, consciousness, frees itself and then goes back to the Real Self. That is how things can happen when you practice. So that is what vibhuti means.

We want the things to happen in our own way, and we mess up, we create conflicts.

Also, in Indian Hindu traditions, when the body dies, it is cremated, put on the funeral pyre. So just to remind of the impermanence of this body for which we struggle so much. That is the beauty of the question that Lord Rama asked his master Vasistha during their conversations in the Yoga Vasistha, the Yoga. That’s what my Master recommended, “The Yoga Vasistha contains my philosophy,” He used to tell. It talks of the time and space as imaginations, everything that existence is in is in perfection, only it is our imagination which spins into a somersaulting head on collision with everything which is going on naturally. We want the things to happen in our own way, and we mess up, we create conflicts.

Just imagine, every resource is there in nature, on this earth. If everybody simply had been able to live happily with a square meal, loving each other, honoring each other, helping each other, considering each other, everybody would have been happy. But that is what we humans do not want to learn and understand. We want to go into a conflict, head on collision. Because we become greedy, our mind has become narrow. It is unable to see a larger cause.

The twelve bananas example, my Master used to give. Hundred times, thousand times we have heard. He used to talk repeatedly so that it can penetrate our mind’s inner layers. That is what He used to tell, “Once you have heard, don’t go into the ego now you have come to know of everything from the Master. Hardly you know anything.” It needs to penetrate the inner layers of the mind. That’s how we also advocate when people buy our books. There are several books about our life, about the teachings that we received from the Master, and some commentaries, and these talks, question and answers transcribed, everything is there. If you read it slowly, one to two pages, two to three pages every day, then that inner meaning, what we are trying to convey, can penetrate. Then it will motivate you, help you to remain focused in your practice of meditation. Then you will understand, because often mind loses its stamina. It starts doubting, “Is there any light at the end of the tunnel?”

That is what ‘this is a science,’ means; there is a systematic approach and there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that is you, yourself. You become aware of what it is. You are always there, you won’t vanish, you won’t disappear in meditation, that is what would happen. So that is how this practice can be so helpful, in all these things that my Master said.

Twelve bananas means, He used to tell, If you have twelve bananas, give some to the other, others, also distribute. You eat four, six, how much are you going to eat? But if you want all the twelve bananas to you in a greedy way, then conflict arises. Others will come to fight. That’s how we create conflicts in this world. When it becomes a conflict, it becomes so difficult to make a judgement of who is wrong and what really happened. Everybody argues for themselves.

If the mind gets purified, a larger cause comes always.

So this is what has happened, if everybody can practice meditation, purify their consciousness, learn to consider about each other in this world, the life can be so beautiful for everyone. No more conflict. This is what we dreamt, whether it happens or not, always from a young age, we also dreamt, “Why can’t humanity live for each other, why do they have to live against each other all the time. Why can’t they? What prevents them, what is there?” If the mind gets purified, a larger cause comes always. We pray, “May all the beings in all the worlds be happy,” that’s how we were taught prayers, that’s a larger cause. We are automatically there, we don’t have to pray separately, “God, only help me, God only give me peace, give peace only to me, there is no need. If all of us have peace, automatically we are also there. That is how the larger cause comes, when we practice meditation, when the mind gets purified. That is how Swamiji used to advise.

So that is the essence of vibhuti, and after receiving the vibhuti blessings, and of course to the newcomers, we also assure, my Guru’s lineage always initiated in a very unique way. It shall not be binding upon you in any way, even if you have been initiated by any other Guru, there is no conflict. Simply you have to practice, you need to have an interest, understand the need for yourself, how this meditation can be helpful, what you can achieve in life, amazing, great, wondrous things about yourself. And that is how one can achieve. My Master initiated like a friend, He was such a unique teacher, He never imposed anything on anybody that, “I am only the Guru.” Simply if a student feels this is worthwhile, wants a guidance, that is the job of a Master, to inspire the student, to guide as a torchbearer. Keep inspiring, “Come on, if I have done it, you can also do it.”

I didn’t have any special horns on my head, we were also born as a human being. We wanted to achieve that one. Simply the power is in remaining determined, courageous, inner strength, never losing mental stamina. “Never look back,” my Master said, “Don’t give up ’til the last breath of life, it is worthwhile, it will continue. It is like a term deposit, it will never go to waste whatever you are practicing. Never give up. Even if death has to come, no problem. Everything is OK, all is well.” That is how He spoke very positively, helped us to remain in positiveness, so such a great Yogi that He was, and of course He is there in our hearts, in everybody’s heart.