Dedicated to the lotus feet of the divine Guru Shivabalayogi Maharaj

Bondage and Liberation – Ashtavakra Samhita, Ch8 vv1-4 – Q&A, No. 279

Recorded on 30 March 2025 with US participants

0:00 Intro
1:14 “Bondage is when the mind desires anything or grieves the loss of anything..”
1:33 “Freedom is when the mind doesn’t desire anything nor grieves the loss of anything..”
2:51 Do desires still arise after Self-Realization?
4:41 In Self-Realization, doesn’t the mind become completely still?
6:13 Once the Self is known, then the mind continues to function when it’s needed, but it can no longer get attached to anything?
9:12 You can be thinking and acting, but you’re always aware that you’re infinite, that you’re not involved.
10:49 What does it mean to be aware of the Self while acting?
12:11 Can you desire without being bound to the desire?
13:31 How are mind and consciousness the same, and how are they different?
14:47 If the mind is producing our ideas, concepts, and imaginations, how do we function in the world if it remains quiet?
18:46 Is Self-Realization the fulfillment of all desires?
23:06 Without Self Awareness it’s almost impossible to imagine that you could be happy or fulfilled without having a lot of stuff.
24:54 When there is no ‘I,’ there is Liberation. When there is ‘I,’ there is bondage.
27:43 You realize you’re just the watcher, the silent witness to what the mind is creating and projecting?
31:07 “I assure you, you can never make yourself disappear.”
32:46 If you remain quiet in your mind, that is Pure Consciousness, and being in the Self, that is the nature of Self Realization – story of Rama and Ravana from the Ramayana.
35:51 “When the body urges of hunger, etc., happen, it appears as if they’re happening to us. This is because consciousness is stuck into the reflections of the brain..”
41:54 It seems that every being has come into this world with ignorance, so there could be no one who is Self-Realized coming into the world.
44:28 The Divine is supposed to be all peace, and supreme peace. So why does it incorporate suffering into its existence?
50:33 How do we know the difference between the intuition and the ego? H
53:28 The terminologies Mind, Supreme Consciousness, space – are they all one and the same, and you use the nearest analogy to help?
56:12 When we ask for grace from the so called Divine. Is it we ourselves that are giving us grace?
57:02 Is it because normal human beings hold onto the past and present that they suffer more mentally?
59:08 How to practice to see everything you see outside of you is nothing but you.
1:00:19 Advice for when age advances and memory and knowledge falls away.
1:03:49 What happens when a desire is binding. How do you tell if a desire is or is not binding?
1:04:30 How to not be overpowered by a person or a situation and keep centered in spiritual power.

Register your free place for the live online meditation and Q&A with Babaji here

Related posts:

In Quest of Truth Podcasts

Listen to Babaji’s Question and Answer sessions wherever you are.
Available to download and listen offline.

Shri Babaji App

The Shri Babaji App provides guidance, motivation and inspiration to meditate and a useful meditation timer with Babaji giving the Jangama Dhyana Meditation technique.

  • Meditation instructions together with a timer to aid practice
  • Talks from Babaji on meditation and spiritual matters including transcripts, and audio and video recordings
  • A selection of inspirational quotes to motivate a daily meditation practice
  • Latest news on talks and articles
  • Keep up to date with meditation sessions in your local area

Sign up to our newsletter

Sign up and subscribe to our mailing list to receive emails on Shri Babaji’s teachings, discourses, events and world tour details.

Newsletter registration

Featured Talks and Q&As

Talk

How to ‘just watch’ in meditation

Shri Babaji explains the instruction to ‘just watch’ in the meditation technique Jangama Dhyana, practiced since ancient times in India. You see, I kept telling,

Babaji's latest Facebook posts

Or go directly to Facebook