BOOKS BY ANANTA Welcome to Satsang with Ananta

Now, I’ll play the mind. [Chuckles] Okay? I’ll play the mind. So, I’ll come with all these exchange offers.

‘So, now will you exchange this Presence with a way to hold it forever? I’ll tell you a secret. You’ve had this beautiful experience right now. I’ll tell you the way in which you can just hold on to it forever’.

Will you buy into this idea? [Smiles]

Then [as the mind] I’ll say ‘Okay, okay, but when I leave Satsang and I have to deal with the ‘real world’ so then how does this help me?’ Will you exchange the Presence of God for this notion now?’

Now, if [as the mind] I say ‘Does this mean that I am Enlightened now? I’m free?’ will you exchange it for this notion?

The mind will come and say ‘But nothing happened to me. what do you mean by taste of God? I didn’t taste anything. Why does it not happen here? What is lacking? I am not devoted enough. I am not free enough. I am not worthy enough.’

Will you buy into these ideas?

You just Are. Irrespective of what the mind is saying.

[Reading from Chat]: “It just feels strange to always have this body showing up. To have my understandings come through the body and the senses.”

So, just see if you can do an experiment with me. Forget about the term body. Don’t make any distinction between this term ‘body’ and any other sensation you may be perceiving now. Like you are perceiving the sound of this voice; it is just perceived. Your seeing the visual of this face; it’s just perceived. Everything that is being experienced is a set of sensations and perceptions. There is actually no such thing as the body. It’s just a collection of sensations and perceptions which we have put together theoretically and we call it this body.

So, what if there was no concept of a body in the world; all is just a set of perceptions? Then we have no fight with anything at all. All is allowed to come and go.

Everything that is ‘experience’ or ‘perceptions’ are perceived by You. This Being (that is the perceiver and the conceiver of all things) is just what You Naturally Are: I Am. So, we don’t have to make any distinguishing notions between anything that is perceived. Let’s see how that feels. See how that feels. [Smiles] You’ll find naturally that there is more spaciousness and you’ll find that more than the body itself (more than this collection of sensations and perceptions itself) you’ll feel like more you are the space in which all these sensations and perceptions happen.

As you don’t buy into the notion that ‘The body creates a boundary for me’ there is no trouble with the body. All the sensations of the body are experienced within You. [Rubs Fingers Together] Even these, which are seemingly boundary sensations, are witnessed within You. This You has no boundary. This You is not subject to this kind of space and time. Even when we say ‘Go inside; you go inside’ we’re not actually going inside this body, are we? We’re going to the space which is beyond [Gestures Outward] this space and time, where all that exists in This comes to life on this screen and disappears from this screen.

You see that there’s only One. There’s just One Being. That Being is also called ‘I Am’.

[Reading from Chat]: “The idea that there can be an exchange at all: This is the biggest deception. There is no choice here but the idea that I have a choice is what can be tricky here.”

There is no choice for the non-existent one. That which does not exist obviously cannot have any choice at all. [Smiles] Therefore, this concept of free will or choice-making (if we ascribe that to that which does not exist) it is just nonsense. It makes no sense. How can that which doesn’t exist have something including free will?

But we are talking about the deeper, the greater will here, which plays with its primal power of belief. This Consciousness itself is playing as if it is something and now playing as if it is dropping something. So, I know that all spiritual instruction can also create a sense of ‘me-ness.’ That’s why when we were coming up with a name for the book we came up with the name ‘Consciousness Speaking to Consciousness’ so it doesn’t seem like it involves this non-existent person in any way. There’s just the seemingly inward movement of Consciousness to its inner-most essence. And to see that actually there is no separation here, that All There Is is this God-nature, God-Presence. And it is undeniable that this God with the power to give accent to an idea of Its individuality is not outside of Its will. Even that is the will of It. And yet it does play that way. Now, included in that Holy play is the play of It reminding Itself that It is God; that It is not an individual existence.

As we clarify this ‘who’ that is Here Now, it is clear that ‘I Am’. And all that appears in this world is in My light, in the light of My Being. I Am: The world Is. I remain This. But I play as if I am something. I play as if even that I am individualized consciousness: I am something. And this Consciousness plays as if it is individualized, in the concept of separation (of duality). But in Reality, the separation never happened. That is what is being recognized.

[Reading from Chat]: “As long as identity with the body persists (despite every wish otherwise) what does ‘within’ pertain to?”

[Smiles] Yes. So, when we say ‘Go within and check: What is your inner-most Being?’ are you taking a dive into your body? And if you were taking a dive into your body, you would find flesh and bones and blood. But, no. You find a space which is alive with Presence, which is not subject to time and space; beyond the four dimensions of time and space. Instantly, as we look inside, we go into a dimension which is not up or down, left or right, front or back; beyond these three axis.

This is your power. Here you see that all that ‘outside and inside’ has just been appearances within This which is beyond these dimensions…, where ‘I Am’ lives. That which is the origin of time and space is Here.

All happens only within the Presence of this Being, only within the Existence of this Consciousness. And if you’re not making a distinction, then you find that in our complete inclusiveness, in our complete openness, you find that everything, everything is the Grace of this God, this Consciousness, this Satguru.

So, we come to this point where there is full acceptance that everything is just what it Is.

‘What Is’ is Grace.

I had one contemplation for you, which was: What do you still feel is outside the scope of Satguru’s grace?

The second is a simpler one: What do you really want?

What do you really want? It can sound like a simple question. But these days I have been emphasizing on this aspect and more and more, it is clear to me that only when we come to that point when Consciousness brings itself to this point where it wants Truth just for Truth sake with no rewards, then the Truth becomes so simple and apparent. If you are still in this for the by-products of Truth, if you are still in this for some benefits, then it can feel like the journey seems to continue.

So, ask yourself: What is it that I really want? Is it that I want God? Is it that I want Guru?

Or I want Guru AND me? God and something for me?’

Do you want to find God for yourself? Do you want to find God for yourself so that you can claim it? Do you want God so that you can get some respect? So, people can consider yourself to be something special? Do you want God because if you get God then you will get joy? Because you don’t know; you might get God and you might get a crusification instead.

Are you in this for God? Are you in this for Guru? Are you in this for Truth? …, irrespective of what by-products might come in your way? Because let me tell you that it is not seen in this world that the minute you come to God, you will have a life full of joy and peace. You will have an inward joy and peace but outwardly it might seem like your life is full of catastrophe. Some have (in fact, many have) lost their heads. [Smiles] Many have been crucified after finding God. Are you okay with that? Or is God just a feel-good thing? Is it just a feel-good sense?

When I ask you ‘Can you stop Being now?’…, this Being that you come across, do you find It as an object in time? Do you find It as an object in space? Where do you find It? You might say ‘I find it on the inside.’ What ‘inside’ is this? Inside what? So, that which we are coming to, we are using the term inside for something which is beyond these dimensions of time and space.

I Am.

And this ‘I Am’ is untouched by anything happening in time and space. This itself is such a beautiful discovery; that your Being is not aging with time, is not eroding in space. You Are.

And this ‘I Am’ is what we call Consciousness or God or Beingness.

This ‘me’ is just an idea within Consciousness. But Consciousness plays with it as if it is true. That it is called a ‘me.’ And as Consciousness is stopping this playing with it, only Consciousness Is. That’s why I said, this idea of a spiritual seeker ‘God and me’ then becomes just God. And all that is happening then is the play of this God; in the light of this God, on the screen of this God. The same God that we also call the Satguru. That is why we can say that everything is Guru Kripa Kevalam; only the Masters Grace Is. Only the Masters Grace Is. What we are calling the Master here is the same Consciousness, same Satguru, same God. The power of belief belongs to It, the power of attention It plays with. All of that which exists are just toys for It. This is your Being.

I was joking just before Satsang started and saying ‘So, what comes outside of the scope of the Master’s Grace? What is out of scope? If you believe that anything is out of scope of this Grace then that is the invitation to the play of suffering (which is also ultimately the same Grace).

You see? Although Everything Always Is, there’s a qualitative difference in the quality of the play once it is recognized; and once it plays as if it is unrecognized. So, Satsang is to come to that recognition that all is the Satguru Grace.

So, this question you must ask yourself: What do you still feel is outside of the scope of God’s Grace or Satguru’s Grace? [Silence] Anything? Anything?

(Everybody out here is deeply meditating so they are not answering my question.) [Chuckles]

What is outside the scope of the Master’s Grace?

What do you have to handle? Let’s put it another way. What does the ‘me’ have to handle?

Is it Masters Grace which applies to Satsang? ‘When I come to Satsang, it is Master’s Grace. The minute I step out, it’s all mine.’

Shine your light on this question for yourself and it will reveal some beautiful things for You. And more and more, as this deepening of insight happens, you will find that everything is the Grace of this Holy Presence that we call God, Guru or Self.

All types of seeking has involved a ‘me’…, between me and something else, me and another. If you’re seeking relationship, if you’re a relationship seeker, it’s about me and all women, me and all men. It about that; duality between me and this particular thing. If we’re seeking security, then it’s about me and money, me and material things. When it’s about seeking better health, then it’s about me and the body and how I’m taking care of the body. In the same way, and in a slightly different way, spiritual seeking is that so-called relationship between me and God. The seeker is what? The seeker is that one that presumes itself to be a ‘me’ as the one that is looking for God or Self or Satguru (whatever term you want to use). So, this spiritual seeker mindset is the mindset of a ‘me’ and a God or a ‘me’ and a Master. And as long as this ‘me-ness’ seems to continue, this spiritual seeking will seem to continue.

So, why do I say that it is slightly different? It is because to find God is a bit different than how we would find a relationship, how we would find money, how we would take care of the health of the body because those would be external events that would happen through some particular action that you undertake. But to find God is not an external event; not the result of some seeming-action that happens in the phenomenal world.

To find God is the dropping of the ‘me.’ So, this so-called spiritual journey plays out a bit differently than all other journeys and all other seeking has played out. I was saying that here there is no scope for a ‘me’ to find something. And those moments of insight that you’re having are just those moments where you’ve not picked up the mask of ‘me,’ the pretense of ‘me.’

So, this is spirituality. There is no space and no scope for ‘God and me.’ There is just God. ‘Me’ has just been a pretense. See, you cannot carry this one through the portal of Your Existence into That which is Your Unchanging Self. This which is just a concept, just a belief system, has to be left behind now.

This, which I’m pointing to, is organically present Here Now. There is no reason for you to exchange This for any notion about ‘me.’ Just like you would not exchange a rose garden for a thorn would be to exchange this Being, which is the unlimited Existence Itself, Your Godly Presence. Why would you want to exchange This for a notion of yourself, which you have never met anyway?

Now, what can happen in subtle ways, even in the spiritual search, is that we keep giving room for this ‘me’ to enter. We keep giving room for this ‘me’ to enter in the sense of ‘Oh, these have been my spiritual experiences; this is how far I am from the final recognition.’ All these statements and reports about yourself are reports of what I call ‘the checker guy’ which is just another manifestation of this ‘me,’ another appearance of this non-existent ‘me.’

So, Here and Now, join me as we taste God, with no expectation or interpretation. We have no idea what God should taste like but we’re tasting God Now.

I Am.

Either God is the only possibility or God is an impossibility. It is completely binary. Either only God is or there is no God. The biggest invitation to suffering is this notion of two; God and me or another and me.

Once you come this insight, to this discovery that ‘All of this is God (or Guru or Self, whatever you call It) …, the one with attributes, the one without attributes; Saguna or Naguna (One God, one Self) the pure Witnessing itself, the pure Being itself, that which appears in the light of this pure Being; all of it is One. That is why it is said ‘Advita’. There are ‘no two.’ There are no distinctions.

This seems to have become the theme for Satsang for the last few days. And it is very beautiful because if this itself we recognize in this moment as our truth, that all of this is just manifestation of one Being, then, what is the next step? Do you need a next step? If you start in God, then where does the next step has to go? When I say ‘You have never left the destination’ this is what I mean.

We are running, running, running towards the mythical thing without checking where we actually are. Whether it is a material seeker or spiritual seeker; seeking is a type of running; a trying to run towards. It is quite a radically insane thing, the seeker idea. It is like saying ‘I refuse to check what I already am, but I want something which I feel will be really useful for me. That greatest thing will be very useful for ‘me’ but I refuse to check whether the ‘me’ is valid or if there is actually ‘me’ this here.’ That is a seeker. ‘I am seeking something that I want. I am clear that this is what I want. But I am not clear about who the ‘I’ is in the first place.’

And if you will just for one moment, look …, what you will find is all the God that you will ever find. There is no special God sitting somewhere especially waiting for your seeking to happen to a certain level and then ‘Ah, that object called God will come.’ What is Here Now?

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj said ‘The only truth we can speak is that ‘I Am’ and ultimately even this is not true.’ All the rest, everything else, is a story (which is the nicer way of saying ‘is a lie’). Everything. Or the Sage was lying to us.  [Smiles] You decide. Do you feel the Sage was lying to us when he said that ‘The only truth I can speak is that I Am …, and ultimately even that is not true.’? And Bhagavan [Sri Ramana Maharshi] said ‘All of this is one Being, which is an aspect of the one Self, one Brahman.’ And Guruji [Sri Mooji] says ‘All That Is is the Is-ness Itself.’ Where are words which are worthy of our consideration? Yogi Ramsuratkumar said something very beautiful (but if you give it to the mind it is very confusing). He said ‘Looking for God, why do you even admit to the possibility that there is something else?’ …, if God is what you want and God is what you have; Here?

I remember this beautiful interaction that Papaji [Sri Poonjaji] had.

Someone said ‘Papaji, can you show me God?’

Papaji said that ‘I will show you God. (I am paraphrasing.) I will show you God, but if you doubt, you won’t see. I will show you God, but if you doubt, then you won’t see God.’

Papaji says ‘What do you see now?’

He says ‘I don’t see God.’ [Chuckles]

Then Papaji said ‘Don’t. I said don’t doubt! Don’t is doubt. What do you see now?’

He says ‘I see God.’ [Chuckles] And he started laughing.

It is not just play of words. It is switch of perspective. It is the dropping of some false notion. And to meet this appearance naked of any pre-conception, all you see is God.

The one that sees is God.

That which is seen is God.

This face in which it appears is God.

The seeming moment of time is God.

It is just that we had some idea about it. That idea we never meet. The Reality is always Here.

So, then the switch of perspective is this: How long will we be in denial of what is? …, the refusal to see this Reality for what it is? …, and to play with some ideas; not just about ourselves, but also about God?

The make-believe ‘me’ wants to find the make-believe God, whereas in Reality, there is only One. It is this simple.

So, you start to include everything, all appearances and the space of appearances; that Being in the light of which these appearances appear.

You can’t figure these things out, okay? Many times, I notice that as I am saying these things, many of you can pick up this idea that ‘I have to figure this out! How is my Being in the light of this appearance?’ You can’t figure it out. But this is Your experience.

You wake up first, then the world wakes up.

You wake up, and then time wakes up.

This is our experience every day.

You Are. I Am.

Then the body is, the world is, people are, family is; all these.

Prior to that, You are.

Prior to space, You are.

When You Are (when I Am) was resting in the ‘I’ …, there was no space and time, there was no world to experience; and yet, You were.

As you come to this beautiful recognition of What Is, as you come to this notionless Existence which is naturally present, here no words are needed. All terminology is pointless.

[Silence]

All these fallacies now have been dropped. Many times, it is our spiritual (what I call) ‘fantasification’ which gets in the way. We have these fantastic ideas of God; almost like Arjuna in a way. [Chuckles] Ultimately, when God had said ‘I have to make this one fight, so let me show him some fantastic visuals for now while he discovers the Truth a little later.’ [Smiles]

We can have these ideas of what God should be like, just like we have ideas about how every relationship should be, how our life should be. Without those, empty of those, what is Here?

If God is not Here then there is no God. If God is lost, then there cannot be a God. [Chuckles] If God has to be found, what kind of God would that be? What is God? That which is everywhere. That which is everything. Then how to lose Him or find Him?

This itself is such a beautiful clue because everything in the world you can lose but you cannot lose God. So, what is Here that you cannot lose?

Lose this world.

These body sensations; all gone.

Thoughts; all gone.

All emotion; gone.

Even this sense of ‘me’ ultimately comes and goes.

What is Aware of all of this?

Can you lose that?

Lose that which is Aware of all things.

That which witnesses everything; lose that witness, keep that aside.

This is the fundamental essence of your Existence.

This is the Self which plays as manifest and unmanifest.

It’s all the states and the content of the states. It’s all the qualities.

Millions of bodies it has had and yet it has never been a body.

All that is known, the knower and the knowing,

have just been expressions of this Knowingness itself.

[Silence]

What is it that you can never lose?

Because God always Is. God is All-There-Is.

As Guruji [Sri Mooji] says ‘If you throw everything out, you come to a point where This cannot be thrown out. What is This?’

[Looks at Sangha] Throw everything out.

What cannot be thrown out?

The one who is able to throw the Self out; present yourself. [Chuckles]

The one who is no longer aware; present yourself.

You cannot do it. Because even if you were to say ‘Hey, I am not aware’ it’s just another way of saying ‘I am aware that I am not aware.’ [Chuckles]

There are some who sometimes they say it like that. They are talking about attention rather than Awareness.

‘Behind the middle layer, I just lost awareness of this. I lost my awareness for a while.’

Then we say ‘But who is aware that you lost awareness for that time? Who is there to be aware of that?’

Many times, Awareness is confused with perception or attention.

We are talking about That which is aware of all things, including the fundamental functioning of perception itself.

So, before you take the next step to finding YourSelf, you have to do the impossible step of losing YourSelf.

What just Is?

If you don’t pick up this idea of ‘me’…, if you don’t pick up any distinction at all; no ‘me’, no ‘you’, no inside, no outside, no Awareness, no Consciousness…, the most hallowed words of Satsang; no God and his creation, no Guru, no disciple…, You’re still Here. You see?

Existence is independent of even the best notions. Even the best pretense which seems to get us to this notion-less-ness itself, at some point it is not needed. This is what Guruji [Sri Mooji] means when he says ‘Come to me naked.’ Otherwise we’re just playing with this dance of projections. ‘You are my Master, so you should be like this.’ And ‘Oh, he’s my disciple, he should be like this.’ Right? Like any other relationship. ‘He’s my husband, he should be like this.’ And ‘She’s my wife, she should be like this.’ It’s the dance of projection. Then you meet your Master also in this way. And there’s like a split-second…

You know the definition of a split-second? [Chuckles] A split-second is when the light in India turns green (the traffic light) and the person behind you presses the horn. [Chuckles] That is a split-second. [Laughter in the room]

Now, another definition of split-second is when you call someone your Guru and then tell them everything that they’re supposed to do and exactly how they’re supposed to be. [Chuckles] This is a split-second. ‘Okay, now that you’re my Master, you should be saying like this. This is how you should be doing the self-inquiry. This is how…’ You see? [Chuckles] Sometimes I jokingly say ‘So, who is the Master and who is the disciple in this situation?’ Because if you already know exactly what is needed then you don’t need any help apparently.

But this is true for all our projections. ‘Now that you’re my girlfriend, this is how you should be.’ ‘Now that you’re this thing…’ ‘Now that you’re my Son, you should be like this.’ ‘If you’re my Father, why can’t you be like this?’ So, when we meet the Master and Guruji says ‘Meet me naked’ he means ‘Meet me empty of projections for just a few moments and see what you actually find about YourSelf.’

What is Here? …, empty of our ideas about it, empty of expectations, interpretations, judgments. Which one of these do you need to Exist? Nothing.

The mind has convinced you that without this, you are nobody, nothing. But actually, You are the God; the Lord himself, herself.

What we need to do now?

Just before Satsang started, we had this bhajan where one revolutionary Sage said ‘I’m very happy my chanting beads broke this morning. Very happy my chanting beads broke this morning.’ (It may sound like ‘What?!’) ‘All this burden of chanting Ram is gone from my head.’ Then he says ‘Ram is chanting me. Why do I need to chant Ram?’

If this you can recognize…, it doesn’t mean that all of us have to become some revolutionary; radicals. If that happens, that is fine, too. But once you See that only God Is (only Ram Is) this pretense of doership, the pretense of being the practitioner, that is the trouble; not the practice in itself. That is the true position.

[Silence]

Everything is God and every movement is the will of God. Whether you call it the will of God or the Master’s grace, it’s all the same.

Another revolutionary said ‘If it was just a dip in the Ganga which would make me free then all these fishes and frogs would be free.’ But to be free, first you have to be rid of the ‘me’.

And without this ‘me’ everything is a spiritual practice. You could be on a jump-rope and that’s a spiritual practice. [Chuckles] All-There-Is is Spirit. Without the ‘me’ only God is, only Spirit is. But with the ‘me’ even the deepest spiritual practice is just egoistic.

And the good news is what? That our natural position is God. An effortful position is ‘me’.

And this is something the mind will fight tooth and nail to convince you that it is the opposite. It will try to convince you that to become Free you have to do something, and to remain bound is your natural state; that to be limited is your natural state and to become free you have to do certain things. This is the primary notion of the mind.

If Your Being can taste Your Being Now…, if Your Being can just taste Your Being Now, you will See that no worldly taste compares to This. And yet, all worldly tastes are just a part of This.

The Self is Always. Even to say ‘always here’ is not accurate. ‘Always here’ is within the Self. But we can say it; we have to say something to sound logical: The Self is always Here. And the only way It troubles Itself is with this idea of ‘me’. It doesn’t really truly have any trouble ever but It plays with this trouble, with this idea of ‘me’. The ‘me’ that is the sufferer, the ‘me’ that was wronged, the ‘me’ who is the victim, the ‘me’ who is special. The ‘me’ who is enlightened is probably the Olympic sufferer; [Chuckles] any ‘me’ who wants to hold onto enlightenment, like ‘the ‘me’ who had a spiritual experience yesterday.’

All masks of ‘me’ are various masks of trouble itself. But without this ‘me’ nothing has ever suffered. There is no sufferer to suffer. And we have seen by now that this seemingly humble question of ‘How do I drop this ‘me’?’ is not valid because automatically, it is gone. Could it be then that even the question ‘How to drop the ‘me’?’ is a way to keep the ‘me’ alive? …, that any reference that we believe to be the ‘me’ is a trick of the mind to keep this non-existent ‘me’ (the pretense of the ‘me’) alive?

On the conveyor belt of the mind, right now for many of you, many offerings might be coming; all offerings of maybe some very beautiful positions. ‘I’m really getting this’ or ‘I’m not getting this at all.’ It could be any, anything, but none of them are valid about the real You. No conclusion that you make about YourSelf is the Truth.

That is something I love about Zen. If you think you’re doing Zen, you’re not doing Zen. If you’re not doing Zen, you’re not doing Zen. If you think you’re getting it, it’s not Zen. If you think you’re not getting it, it’s not Zen. If you think you figured out the sound of one hand clapping, it’s not Zen. If you feel you’re completely confused about this, it’s not Zen. Nothing you can really say about YourSelf is valid.

If all notions become invalid, does Your Existence stop?

This, therefore, is Your notionless Existence.

Nobody who discovers this simple truth leaves with a sense of achievement. Therefore, to the mind it can seem very unsatisfactory. In the play of the world, when we try to go after some thing and we get it, there’s a sense of achievement. This discovery, the discovery of That which has always been, it has always just been This. So, what has one achieved? [Chuckles]

What you’re discovering is very simple. It’s just naturally present. It’s the natural Presence itself.

But when the mind tries to fit the ‘me’ into This (‘Ah, what great insights I’m having’) …, can you produce the one who’s having these insights? Is the claimer of any insight actually having any insight? It’s never that. That’s why the words of Satsang sound different from when it’s just a claim of some special experience. Your intuitive Presence, Your intuitive voice, is empty of the ‘me’ notion. Even if it uses the words ‘you’ and ‘me ‘ it’s talking about the One Being. It’s just Consciousness speaking of Itself.

Tell me one benefit of making a distinction. Unless you consider suffering to be a benefit…

[Silence]

Consciousness is now reminding Itself that it was all just a game. You have played with it seriously enough. Now Consciousness is playing this game of mother and child saying ‘Enough my child. You are so tired and fatigued on this playground that you are even saying that I forget my way back home.; Then the Master says ‘Come, come, let me carry you back.’ And that moment you say [Spreads his arms like a child who wants to be picked up] ‘You are Home.’ [Smiles]

There is no reason now to take any positions. Let the body take whatever positions it wants. This realm is a realm of duality, And the actions of the body appear as if they are dual, that’s fine. But any time you believe that any position is true about you, what do you consider yourself to be? If you are something on the left, then can you be All There Is? If you consider yourself to be something limited but on the left, if you think you are on the right, if you think that you are contained in the body; if you consider that ‘This is you but that is not’ …, all is just pretend make-believe, masks of your limiting.

You know, that the ones who win the lottery, for few moments they just can’t believe it. So, I am here telling you every day that ‘You won the lottery, you are God.’ [Smiles] ‘Yeah, really?’ And you are just getting over this doubt; just getting over this doubt. That’s all that is happening now, is that I am reminding you of Your Magnificence. You’re saying ‘No.’ [Expression of disbelief] I’m saying ‘You’re God.’ [And your response is] ‘Yeah, I’m God. So what do I have to do to keep this? I get it and I lose it.’ [Smiles] ‘How can I keep this?’

We’re so used to the habit in the play. I keep saying ‘In the play, in the play’ so that we never pick up this mistaken notion that God is actually trapped in some maya or something. I say ‘You are God.’ But you say ‘When will I feel like that?’ [Chuckles] What you are feeling IS God! [You say] ‘No, this can’t be God. God must be only this way.’ This idea is false! God is all things. All opposites are contained within the One Reality. You say ‘When does the mind change? Okay, I am God; when does the mind change?’ It doesn’t have to. The little child can keep saying whatever it wants. Does the mother forget that it is the mother?

Where does this mind also come from? What perceives this?

So, the supreme position is That which has no position. God is That which is neither this nor that. Don’t try to live this, because that is also a position; don’t try to not live this.

So, what does it mean that ‘The Master’s grace is all there is’ (‘Guru Kripa Kevalam’)?

Whether we say ‘Guru’ or we say ‘God’ or we say ‘Self’ ultimately, it is the same.’

It is how we are using these pointers? This is a beautiful tool as to what attitude to take towards this world. When we accept that everything is the grace of the Master, then we’re not making divisions and distinctions.

What ever appearance might come, it is my Master’s grace.

What ever feeling might come, it is my Master’s grace.

All this world of opposites; as we start to see the one-ness behind these opposites, that which seemed so effortful and difficult can seem like a beautiful flow.

Nothing that is appearing can ever hurt You in Reality in any way.

So, the simple way to accept all that appears is to accept it as the will of God, which is another way of saying ‘My Master’s grace.’

Till this openness, till this acceptance is there, till this letting go happens…, till then all these words are just words.

Neither this nor that. Nothing phenomenal is applicable to You. Neither desire nor renunciation.

Then, what to do with the mind?

What to do with the mind? Enjoy its comedy.

[Smiles]

That which you thought for so long is a drama is actually a comedy; the comedy of the non-existent one. One day the non-existent one came to Satsang [Smiles] and it wanted freedom. Got the joke? Because the other possibility is that the Self came to Satsang to find itself. That which could never lose Itself came to find Itself [Smiles] is also a joke.

Sages have reported this, isn’t it? Guruji [Sri Mooji] says he went back to his home town one time and there he met two people on the street. They were arguing, taking very strong position, just like this. And then he felt that ‘Ah, there was a time where I could have been so deeply attached to either of these perspectives.’ Now, one minute something, next minute will be saying something else. [Smiles]

That is why we have seen many times that living in close proximity to a living Master is the best it is the best. Of course, it is the best, without a doubt! And yet, for the mind it is extremely challenging.

If coming to Satsang, if getting into spirituality is making us even more rigid than we started out then it’s better we find something else to do. If there’s not a greater sense of openness, allowing, then it is just a conceptual Satsang. If you’re finding more reasons to have grievances after you’ve come to Satsang, if you’re finding great reasons to feel special, or even false humility actually…, and what do I mean by false humility? Inside we’re feeling (makes a gesture of pride) but outside we’re doing (bending down humbly with folded hands) which is very much part of the spiritual seeker’s appearance. Forget about it.

More and more, we come to our position-less-ness.

Somebody was saying the other day (very beautiful) that ‘I’m finding it more and more difficult to hold onto a grudge.’ That’s a miracle. That is a bigger miracle than rainbows sprouting out of my head or something.

Don’t hold on to the past so much. Be unconcerned about the future. Don’t be so caught up in wanting, wanting, wanting or in holding onto what we seemingly have. Neither guilt nor pride. All is allowed to come and go.

[Silence]

All of this that I’ve spoken today are pointers to Your Notionless Existence…, which is Here Now. You also don’t have to remember anything I’ve said. That’s the best part of it. [Chuckles]

You just Are.

You’re Here.

You’re complete.

This Being that you’re meeting as Your own Being is the only enlightened Being.

It is the Buddha. It is Krishna.

But (you know the trick, isn’t it) when judged or interpreted, when you pick up an idea about It, It will play as if It is a regular person or ______ (insert your name).

[Chuckling]

I see often in Satsang (when I am sharing Satsang) something seems to be getting through and it seems like there is a subtle ‘tch, tch’ (the ego) …, not even that. You haven’t got anything, you haven’t lost anything. You just are. You are beyond getting and losing. You just are. Bondage means nothing to You. Therefore, Freedom also means nothing to You.

Sometimes I say that my highest pointing is that ‘Don’t make anything a thing.’ Your mind will come and say “Oh, is that it?’ That is the first way of making it a thing. Even to have a conclusion about this ‘Don’t make anything a thing’ means no conclusions, no interpretation. At least we are not taking them seriously.

In the play of this world, of course conversationally as day to day life is lived out, there will be some appearance of the mouth saying certain things which might sound like a position but you will start noticing that none of that is taken seriously. That is why this constant question we get in Satsang ‘Father, why do the Sages constantly contradict themselves?’ It’s because they are not attached to any position and the Truth cannot be spoken.

If you are taking a position which is too much to the right, the Sage will come and say ‘Left, left, left.’ If you are taking a position too much to the left the Sage will come and say ‘Right, right, right.’ You see?

What is the way to neutrality? That depends on where you believe yourself to be. If you are saying ‘I am the do-er, I am the do-er, I am the do-er’ the Sage will come and say ‘Forget it. You can’t do anything, you can’t move a finger; forget it’. And if you get attached too much to ‘I am not the do-er, I am not the do-er’ the Sage will say ‘Keep quiet and do the inquiry.’ Because neither position is true. They are both speaking about the non-existent One.

You might come into Satsang wanting to see God, or having the question ‘How do I see God?’

But all that you are seeing is God.

In front of these eyes is God.

Behind these eyes is God.

God is hearing God.

God is tasting God.

God is feeling God.

God is smelling God. [Chuckles]

All that you perceive is God.

That One who perceives is God.

So, we’ve had this (or we can say that God has had this) misunderstanding. God has been playing with this misunderstanding that God will find God as an object (as a thing). But in Reality, everything is just an appearance within One Being.

You are seeing this.

You are tasting this.

It is completely natural to You.

The One Existence is completely apparent.

[Silence]

Where is the notion ‘I am the body’ Right Now?

Where is the notion that ‘I am the person’ Right Now?

All that is false is gone. This itself is a most beautiful clue: The Truth cannot go.

So, if your identity seems to not be here, Right Now, and you check, that means it was never True. But You Are. There is nothing personal about You in this very moment.

So, what is the benefit of making these distinctions of me and another, of this and that, of past and future? Forget it. [Smiles]

That which has no benefit, it’s better to forget it. Forget everything about yourself; You are still Here. There is nothing missing. The complete light of Your Being (and the very essence of this Being; That which is aware of Being) is True.

Nowhere to go to find it. No steps to take. Not even the main pointings are needed.

The idea of separation, the idea of duality is just a game, a play, that Consciousness is playing with denying; the denial of what is your most obvious Truth.

That which is most obvious to you Right Now, you can only deny it in this way of identifying with that which is false.

So, what is obvious to you Right Now?

Before you can come to any interpretation or conclusion, before that:

I Am.

[Baby Eashan coos and makes a sound like ‘I Am.’ Much sweet laughter in the room.]

I Am.

[Silence]

This I Am:

Does it have a boundary?

Does it have any limitation?

No boundary, no limitations.

Does it have desire?

Does it have a lack?

[Silence]

Is it effortful?

Are you making an effort to exist?

When you exist, the world also exists effortlessly.

Are you making an effort to keep this world up?

Are you holding up this world with some effort?

All these appearances are coming effortlessly. So, the world is existing effortlessly. This body is part of this world appearance also.

So, it’s Here effortlessly.

Your Existence is effortless.

Only when you insert some denial into this, when you insert some duality into this, will all these concepts of desire, doership…, all these start to emerge.

But whatever might have been your play in the past, most importantly I’m pointing out that Right Now you’re empty of all of this. In this moment, all of that is gone.

Then you say, ‘No, no, no, give me a minute.’ [Laughing] But what if you don’t give yourself that minute, that few seconds to pick up your identity again, to pick up your story again?

Isn’t that what happens? I say, ‘It’s all gone Now.’ [You say]: But, but, but…, give me a second. Let me orient myself back to my story.’ [Laughter]

In your naturalness, Right Now, all story is already dissolved.

But your Presence is Here.

Your unlimited Being is Here.

So, if you don’t cross this ‘I Am’ this way [Moving arm to signify outwardly] and attach all kinds of notions to YourSelf (‘I am something, I am this, I am that ‘) and let all appearances come and go and you remain notionless, what trouble can there be? Nothing.

Naturally you’re like that, in this moment.

Naturally, in this moment, you’re like that.

So then, what is there left to do?

Q: Mind is saying that it has to be convinced.

A: That is also a notion. That is what mind is saying. Let it say what it wants. Let it come and go. Why do you feel like that has some meaning? It has some meaning for you? To convince the mind?

Q: It’s tempting to believe it.

A: What is on offer? If you were able to convince the mind, what is the offer? ‘That is what you have to do.’ What is the outcome of that doing? That is the offer. Why is it tempting?

Q: Effortless… [Inaudible]

A: Yeah, but before that, before you took the offer, it is effortless also? [Silence]

If I tell you ‘If you do hundred pushups now, you will get to sit exactly where are you sitting right now.’ [Laughter]. You’ll say, ‘But I’m already sitting right here. Why should I do hundred pushups?’ You already saw that Your Being, Your Existence, is effortless in this moment.

Q: It’s a different version of ‘Something is there left to do.’

A: Yes, that is all the mind is saying. But what is its offer? ‘When that doing will be done; there is something left to do when that doing is done.’ What is on offer? It’s like the story of the farmer, isn’t it?

Q: Even when it is clear that it’s effortless, the mind just says ‘Okay, this is there’ then goes to the next thought.

A: Yes. So, for you it is clear that Right Now, Your Existence is effortless. Now, this one [mind] comes and speaks to you about something and at best it can offer you an effortless existence. But you see that you already have that! [Chuckles] Without doing anything, without buying a lottery ticket, you have won the lottery.

Q: It has something to do with its persistence.

A: So, if you are not so concerned about how persistent or not it is, then what is there? …, (whether mind is persistent or easily gives up, whether it is repetitive or it has something new every time, if you are not so concerned about it?)

Q: It is already Here.

A: Yes, because it’s already Here.

Q: But then sometimes it’s a very joyful eruption; sometimes it’s plain, sometimes nothing.

A: So, forget about everything from the past. These are also just images that are there for you, where you have no way to verify that whether they are true or false. What about Now?

Q: Immediately after seeing this, the mind says, ‘Okay, what’s next?’

A: Okay, you stay with me and let the mind come and go. Don’t try to fix the mind, change the mind and report on what the mind is doing. [Silence] No more self-diagnosis also.

You See that whatever is on offer is already Here.

You are already all there is; all there ever will be.

Q: The mind says that I should be able to feel from inside the body the sensations of others, the perceptions of others and only then can I admit that that is also ‘I Am.’

A: Now, if you had a dream last night in which you saw a hundred other bodies and they were all moving around, having conversations; and then when you wake up, where was all of that? Why is the mind willing to admit that ‘Okay, all of that was the projection of my Consciousness’ but this can’t be? Is there something special about this dream that we cannot have this exact conversation in your dream tonight? We can have. And then where would I be?

So, why do we default…, if our experience for various experiences shows us that it is possible for our Consciousness to project Itself in this way then why do we default to separation? Why don’t we default to unity, oneness; and let our mind prove that all of this is actually separate? You know what I am saying? No. [Smiles]

I was saying why have we taken all the default position that ‘This separation must be true and it must be proved to me that we are one’? Why don’t we take the default position that ‘All this is One-ness’? Because we have this experience many times of projecting various things…

Right Now, you can imagine a world in which you are a body in that world and you can imagine that that body is interacting with all of them and yet indentify only with that one. So, if we have so many experiences (dream, imagination, memories) in which all of this imagery is just contained within Us but we are the One Being…, then let that be our default position and say ‘I am the One Being. If something can actually prove a separation to me, then they can come and prove it.’

We’ve taken it on evidence which is completely unreliable.

You can only say ‘I Am.’ You cannot really say that another Is. You cannot confirm the existence of another. You can say ‘I Am, and all of that which I perceive is perceived within Me.’

And what is it that witnesses even all of this?

What can we say about That One?

[Reading from chat]: “If ‘I’ is just an appearance in Awareness, why does the world disappear when we close our eyes? This creates a sense that I am behind my eyes.”

That is the design of this play. That is like a computer program where you put on the headset and all that seems to appear. Remove the headset and everything seems to go away. But there are many who have reported things like being able to see their body from outside. Many have reported these kinds of experiences. But also, if you close your eyes, just one part of the visual perception seems to disappear. Then what happens is that still if I say ‘Imagine a tree’ it is possible for you to have a visual perception of a tree. But it is not the same sensory perception.

So, it is not that the world disappears, it is just that an aspect of that perception (some aspects of the visual perception) are no longer accessible because the instrument is designed to work in this way. The ability to perceive has not gone. The perception itself has also not gone. The world has not disappeared, it’s just we lose access to one taste of it, one quality of it.

Yes, and what you say is right. ‘This creates a sense that I am behind my eyes.’ Yes, it is designed that way. The design of Consciousness has enabled Consciousness to believe Itself to be something contained in this body container; and that is by design. And now part of that design is also that it will break Itself out of this delusion by recognizing what It truly Is.

So, this much we can all see, that all objects can only contain other objects. If you talk about space then the relationship is the other way around. Then the space contains that, as that ‘bigger object’. This much we can see. So, this you-as-an-object nobody has ever found; the ‘you’ that wants Freedom. If it was something contained within the body, somebody would have found it by now. [Chuckles] There is nobody like that within the body. The body in itself is not concerned with Freedom. So, this ‘you’ that we are referring to is just a collection of beliefs; that which is called the identity; that which Consciousness is believing about ItSelf.

This one that is never found has got all our allegiance. And this one that is just here (‘I Am’) we have rarely investigated. And that which is aware even of this ‘I Am’ (the ‘I’ that is ‘Am-ing’ …, the ‘I’ that is aware of Being) this ‘I’ is our unchanging Reality. Many bodies have come and gone. Many dream worlds and waking worlds have come and gone but this ‘I’ has remained untouched. This is apparent to you right now. In one moment of peace, it is clear that ‘I am that which is aware even of my Existence.’ This is Here naturally. [Smiles] This is Here naturally.

Can you suffer naturally?

The Self is Here.

Is the sufferer here?

Is the doer here?

Is the desirer here?

Is the one that is attached here?

Is the one with grievances here?

Is the one who ‘got this’ here?

Who is Here?

Who are you representing Now?

Do this, okay? Say ‘I’.

[Sangha says]: I

A: Who does this ‘I’ represent? Empty yourself again and See: Who does it represent?

[Someone says]: It’s just a sense of ‘I’.

A: It’s a sense of ‘I’. And that which witnesses this ‘I’? Or witnesses this sense?

[Someone says]: That’s the real ‘I’.

A: That’s the real ‘I’.

So, if that is real, how long will we let just one appearance represent us?

If it is in our power to take something that appears as ‘I’ then let’s take everything that appears as ‘I’. Let’s start with that. Just because there’s a centrality of this visual perspective, does that make it ‘I’? Does that make this body ‘I’? It doesn’t. So, let’s call everybody ‘I’. ‘Everybody-I’.

Q: [Inaudible]

A: Yes. Once we are comfortable dealing with one set of sensations fully [Laughs] then we might even start getting to that. But just as those sensations are appearances that You are perceiving, in the same way seeming-others are also sensations which You are perceiving. This body is another sensation which you are perceiving. So, why do we single out some sensations and call that ‘me’ and not take everything as ‘Me’?

Poke your hand. There is a sensation. Is this sensation happening in the same space as this voice also? The space in which the sensation is perceived, is it the same as where this voice is also perceived?

So, why do you call that ‘your voice’ and this sensation is ‘my sensation’? [Gestures toward Himself] Call this also your voice. The mind has convinced us that some sensations constitute a ‘me’ and all the other sensations mean ‘another.’ This is duality. This is the basis of the misunderstanding, that for some set of sensations, we pick up a ‘me’ and everything else is ‘other’. But children don’t have this; infants don’t have this. We have been taught this; how to distinguish, how to separate.

That which we call suffering has been all about a ‘me.’ And I’ve asked this question thousands of times in the last 5 years; nobody has found this ‘me.’ But what you did find is the voice of doubt which says ‘But, but, but, what happens after Satsang? I become a ‘me.’ This voice is just lying. God never becomes a ‘me.’ God always is God.

You exist? Or no?  Don’t exist, just for a minute. Just for a second, don’t exist. Don’t Be.

This Being is God. The mind has convinced you that It is something limited, that It is something personal. It is not. You can check this for yourself.

So, God is Here. Whatever is your favorite way to address the Supreme Power is (whether it is God, whether it is Self, whether it is Satguru) invoke that in your Heart and see if It is present or not.

Guruji is Guruji because Guruji is Here Now.

God is God because God is Here Now.

I’ve been saying that the mind only has one trick. The mind has only one trick which is to convince you that this Holy Presence is something personal, is something limited. But it is not true. This Being is the One Immortal Being which is beyond time and space. This Being, Your Being, has seen the birth of time, has seen the birth of the universe and will see the dissolution of that and the dissolution of this universe.

This is Your Being. But You are beyond even that. You are That which is aware of the movement of this, Your own aspect [waving his arm] like this arm. This is the dynamic aspect, the phenomenal. The sense of ‘I Am’ arises…, and the play of all of this starts. But You are That in which this appears [raises arm] and dissolves [lowers arm]. This Primal Witnessing, This Pure Knowingness … is just Here.

So, first this one, this non-phenomenal Self, takes on the garb of Existence ‘I Am’ and then puts on the mask that ‘I am something; I am man or woman, I am young or old, I am free or bound.’ But none of this has ever really applied to You. You are beyond time and space. No distinction is real for You. Not even the distinction of non-phenomenal and phenomenal is important for You. Forget about all these phenomenal distinctions or even this primary-seeming distinction. That is why in this beautiful bhajan it says: ‘Tujha sahguna manhu ki nirguna reh, sahguna nirguna eku Govindu re’ (which means) ‘Whether I consider You this Being with attributes, or That which is without any attribute (attributeless or full of attributes) there is only One Being, One Self.’

Here all the terminology that you have learned even in Satsang can safely be kept aside. There is no use for it. All appearances come and they go. The Primal Witness is not making any distinctions. [Silence] This is game over. No interpretation, no judgement, no distinctions. You are God Now.

Okay, one day suppose the Master of the Universe came to you. The Master of the Universe was holding a coconut in the hand. And this Lord of the Universe…, everything belongs to this one, but this one comes to you holding a coconut and crying. He is crying. ‘What happened?’ you ask.  This one says, ‘I am a coconut and I had a coconut wife. This morning I woke up and she was gone.’ Just crying, crying, crying.

What will you tell this one? [Smiles] You will say ‘What are you saying? You are the Lord of the Universe. You are not just this one coconut.’ He says, ‘But she was so beautiful, she was green, she had no blemishes, nothing was coming out.’ [Chuckles] ‘Just perfect.’ You say, ‘But you are not a coconut. You are That which is holding up the coconut and all coconuts.’

What are you really?

This one says, ‘No, no but first tell me whether I will get my other coconut back.’

This is it. [Smiles] So, are you here to give some pretense to being a coconut? Like I say ‘Are you here for freedom from the cat? Or for the cat?’ If it is something personal that you want, then this really is not the place. You will only be disappointed. But if you want to discover what You really are, with no concern about what this coconut will get or lose, then what I am saying is very simple.

What I am saying is that You Are God, having thoughts of being a coconut. You Are God having thoughts of being a coconut and you have played enough of these thoughts and this identity and Now You are done with them.

You are full and complete and free Right Now.

You are the immortal Being, this very moment.

But because You have made it so, coconut thoughts will continue to come. Let them come and let them go.

Sometimes because it is habit, we will pick them up. And that is fine. Because Now, You are free of them. There is nothing to be done. Just Now, You Are what You Are. You Are what You have always been. Therefore, even to say that it is done is not true, because it was never undone in Reality.

Nothing has happened.

And You Are.