BOOKS BY ANANTA Welcome to Satsang with Ananta

The very first thing in the morning, You met an enlightened Being, which is Your own Self.

Now this poor Being has been judged and judged and judged and judged [Laughter] with so many interpretations already this morning. No wonder it seems like a burdened donkey or something.

Yet, what is the promise of the Being? That as you meet It fresh, all the burdens are gone. Past is irrelevant for it. The future means nothing. You just Are. And I promise you that what You just Are, in this moment, without judgment, is the most enlightened Being you will ever meet.

Is it possible that all of you are getting it right now? Are seeing the simple Reality, completely? You don’t have to become deserving of it; no worthiness is needed.

And whatever…, if there was something needed?

It has already been done.

[Silence]

Every moment, You are fresh, You are new; empty of all this conceptual dust that you gathered.

You might have even believed that it is some great treasure that we are picking up along the way; all these concepts about ourselves. But Now, we see that it was nothing but dust. And we can allow it to fall away. In fact, it is already gone.

You will still get invitations for new dust [Chuckles] mostly in the form of ‘but …’ (something).  ‘But…, what about my work? But…, what about my family? But…, why do I lose my temper? But…, why is the sangha like this? But …’ [Chuckles].

None of this about the real You. No doubt can apply to the Truth of what You Are. It only applies to ‘the coconut’.

All our self-righteousness, all our special-ness, all our humility and unworthiness, has not brought us any peace. All of it has only served as dust in Your eyes.

Meet YourSelf with fresh eyes now.

When I speak about the ocean and the coconut…, for how many of you is it clear?

[Looks at sangha] ‘Clear?’

Because we can clarify this; because in the play, it can seem very, very sticky: ‘I am discovering that I am the limitless one, but why is this body still not behaving like that?’

What you are finding about YourSelf is that You Are That in which all of these appearances are coming and going. This body/mind is just another aspect of that appearance. It is only because we have been habituated to believe that just these appearances are ‘me’ that it can seem like we want to then capture the limitless in this tiny container of sensations. We cannot do it.

So, as we leave the existence of this worldly object to Existence Itself, then we see that we don’t have to manage anything at all. All things are moving and have been moving in their own light; in the light of Consciousness.

There is no ‘individual’ speaking these words right now and there is no ‘individual’ hearing them. It is just Consciousness speaking with Consciousness.

Wherever you draw a boundary for YourSelf, know that there is a notion there which is not true. Wherever you create a sense of idea of limitation about YourSelf, know that there is a notion there which is not real about You.

Notion-less-ly, who can show me a boundary?

So, the job of the mind (the job of this aspect of You called ‘the mind’) is to convince Consciousness Itself that It is a limited entity. For a while, Consciousness has played as if It bought into these ideas. And now It is ridding Itself of them.

What you are Seeing is the big ‘I’, the unlimited ‘I’.

What needs your belief is the small concept of ‘i’.

You are experiencing Your Truth.

But to believe, to pose as if You are limited, means a notion about YourSelf.

Trust Your Presence to resolve all things perfectly.

Know that you cannot do this wrong. Because many might be feeling like ‘Am I doing this right? Is there something missing in this?’ [Smiles] Nothing is missing.

You are Here.

It’s simpler than saying ‘I know that I am sitting here. I know that I am listening to the words you are speaking’. Simpler than any of this, more natural than everything, is the Awareness of this Existence. You are aware that You Exist. It is the basis for all other things. You cannot get this wrong.

What is the misinterpretation? It is when we say ‘But this is not enough. It can’t be this. It is too simple.’ [Smiles]. That is just a misunderstanding, because this, what You are finding, Your Presence, is the light of all things. But don’t push for any of these insights. Let them arise naturally for you if they must.

You just enjoy YourSelf.

You just enjoy the taste of your own Being, Your own Presence.

‘I Am’.

‘I Am, I Exist’.

Everything else seems significant only because You Exist.

This Existence itself has been the greatest gift that you have given YourSelf.

[Meditative Silence]

And for those of you for whom this Existence, this Being, seems like a confusing notion, you don’t have to go on an expedition trying to find this Being. You don’t have to go looking for Being.

See if you ‘cannot’ Be.

Can you stop Existing?

Q: You said ‘Attention does not leave you.’

A: Attention also does not leave you. Even though also it might seem like ‘Oh, I am leaving myself and going to worldly things.’ But you will find even this attention is moving about just within Your own screen of Consciousness, Your own Being. It does not leave you. But in the beginning, it can feel like as attention goes on this objective world, it can feel like ‘Oh, I am moving away from the Self.’ That is why I said, for those who feel it is natural, for whatever time they have in a day, they can just rest in this simple Existence, in Your natural Being. And then they will find that ‘Even this movement of attention does not seem to take me away from My Being. Everything is just included in That.’ But even this movement of attention back and forth does not change the Reality of what You already Are.

So, there comes a point that wherever your attention might go, you will find that it is just within Yourself. It is not that this is something new that God created. It is just the recognition of something that is already been, always been.

Q: What is another name for it? Presence or Awareness? Would you call it attention?

A: No, not really. I would say that attention is one of the most primal tools of the Self. So, it is that tool which makes that (on which attention goes) seem to exist in our worldly play. So, it is just a tool. And what you’ll find is that as you come to the recognition of That which is aware, even of existence, aware even of attention, there the play of attention is also not. Like in deep sleep, there is no such thing as attention. So, when you’re waking (I sometimes jokingly call them the co-joined twins; I don’t know whether you’ve heard this one) when the waking happens, it is very natural, of course, to say that ‘When I exist, when my Being is here, then this power of attention is available to It as one of Its primal forces.’ But you will find that this attention is very, very primal. You can say ‘I have my attention even on Being. As I inquire ‘Who is aware of Being?’ my attention is going to Being.’ So, although it is fine to say that Your Being is prior to attention, but actually both are prior to time.

So, although it is very, very intimate to the Self, I would not use attention as another name for the Self. Because ultimately, even attention is something which comes and goes. And the second thing about attention is that, unlike Awareness, unlike the Self, it is limited. You look at this, [Points] you imagine a tree, and you hear some music. ‘No, no, I can’t have attention on all of that. Tell me what you want me to focus on.’ [Smiles] So, for those of us who have kids, you know this already. The kids are all asking attention at the same time. But you run out of it. So, although it is a very, very beautiful and intimate tool, it is the experience of something which is so quality-less, like the quality-less taste of Awareness Itself, and yet it is not the same. It is like the ‘phenomenal twin’ of Self…, because it is limited, everything phenomenal is limited.

I was saying in the retreat that ‘How many steps that do you have to take to sit exactly where you are sitting right now?’

And to be YourSelf is even more natural than sitting where you are; that you cannot not be.

So, this idea of becoming, of getting to it, is the ignorance that Shankara is talking about.

Because it implies that you must be something limited right now and you will become the unlimited Self. Becoming implies the change.

And what have these Sages said about the Self? That It is the One which is unchanging.

So, forget about becoming Self- realized, getting in to the truth.

Enjoy That which you already Are.

There is nothing missing in You.

My proposition to you right now is that You are full and complete, the enlightened Being, in this very moment. All you need to do (if there is something to be done at all) is to taste this for YourSelf. And then you will see that I did not pick a special moment to say this. I know this to be true about You Right Now. That means it must always be true about You. It just cannot be that I say it so many times during the Satsang and it is only during that time that the Self is there, isn’t it? Full and complete,

So, this recognition is always here. This means that You are always just This…, but You are considering yourself to be something else.

So, forget about all your benchmarks. Forget about what ‘enlightened’ look like, what freedom must appear to be. Forget about all experiences that should happen, all super-powers that you should get.

Enjoy Your Being.

Because all these expectations are pointless. But as You enjoy your Being …, (okay, I am not going to say what, [Smiles] because then it becomes ‘expectation’.)

Just enjoy Your Being.

[Smiles]

There is no enlightenment.

Just enjoy Your Being

[Smiles]

So, either we can say that Your Being is already the most enlightened,

or we can say there is no enlightenment.

The main point is: Enjoy your Being.

[Reads question from chat] “I don’t care to speak but I have been spending a lot of time lately meeting or checking in to feel, sense, see my own Self. Is this as effective as staying as I am, staying with I am?”

Yes. As I have been saying, meet yourself till the concepting of meeting dissolves. Even in the staying with the ‘I Am’ the notion of staying dissolves. It is just I Am. As you meet YourSelf, You See that only the Self IS, and then you will come to see that it is impossible to leave my Self.

I know it can seem like it’s a bit of a play but the thing is that we discover OurSelf, we are finding that this Self includes all things. And yet this unchanging has been ignored, has been kept aside for so long that, as we are meeting OurSelf in this way, then for a while it can seem like we are divesting from other things. But actually, as You continue to meet YourSelf in this way, it expands this meeting, which includes all things. And this is the very same as what [Nisargadatta] Maharaj said ‘To be with the sense I Am; to remain with your Presence.’

What is most important is to meet YourSelf without judgement, without interpretation, without any conceptual meaning. And I was saying the other day that You are meeting the most enlightened Being. But what is the deal with the Being? The Being says ‘If I am interpreted or judged by My own aspect called the mind, then I will pretend as if I am a limited entity, I am a personal existence.’ You are meeting Your universal Existence till the notion of the one that is coming to this meeting dissolves. And that is Now. Meet YourSelf and tell me if the one who wanted to meet themselves still remains. [Silence]

Dive into your Being. [Silence] And notice whether you can actually ever step out of Your Being. What is your original position?  What is the starting point itself?

Then you will find that all that seems to happen is that the gravitational pull of sensations and perceptions seems to attract our attention. And because attention goes to these things, it can feel like ‘I left my Self’. But it is not true that with the movement of attention You leave YourSelf. But for a while, as we bring OurSelf back naturally to this simple Being, natural Presence, You will See that it’s just not possible to leave this.

So, for those of you for whom it seems natural, playful, easy, not hard work, you can stay with this. Stay with Your Divine Presence. It’s always been Here. [Silence]

As you meet YourSelf, See if you can leave YourSelf unharassed by any expectation of what should happen or even a conceptual checking on what is happening. Let all concepts come and go.

[Reading from chat]: “It really is the best way to start. Sometimes reading scriptures and such, the mind can get caught up, seeming that this is some mysterious and aloof thing.”

Yes. That’s why I’ve been saying that I am the bearer of good news. [Smiles] That this truth which you are looking for is the simplest. In fact, that which doesn’t even seem like looking; does not even need looking.

What is already here without looking for it?

What is just present without looking for it?

If you are then like ‘I am just tired. I am not going to look for anything at all. I am done with this inquiry thing. No exploring, no finding, no looking; nothing.’ But even for all of this, You have to be there, no?

Can you get rid of this You?

Get rid of YourSelf.

See? This is the funny thing. [Chuckles] Here we are looking for that which we can’t be rid of.

That is why both Shankara and Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi said that ‘True knowledge is just the dropping of false ignorance. It is not the finding of something new.’ Because you have always been the Self. You have just considered YourSelf to be something else, something limited.

How many are getting the essence of what I am saying about this? Because it is really important. Otherwise, you can keep feeling like you have come to some place of truth or something like that; whereas the Sages have said that ‘No, You Are That already. It is only what you are considering yourself to be which is false.’ And as you remain empty of these notions, You are the full and complete Self, with nothing missing.

That which tells you that there is something missing or somewhere to go; that is just a mistaken notion about who you are. Because it is not speaking about You-as-Consciousness, about You-as-the Self. It is speaking about you as a limited entity, which is never true.

[Reading a question] “Enjoying my Being sometimes confines only until my focus is inside (not outside in this world) and free from notions. But it is still short lived.”

Like, for some time it will seem that life gives us very little time for this. But at least whatever time it gives you, if it is used in this, then you will find that you are not leaving this, and more and more gets included in this itself. Till you come to a point when you could be in the busiest marketplace, and you find that ‘Oh, this is within my Being. I never leave my Being.’

I know that life is not vindictive. It is only responding to whatever is your truest calling. So, instead of feeling that life should give me more time and space to enjoy my Being, just feel grateful for whatever time life is giving you already. And in the sense of gratitude, it will continue to grow, will continue to deepen, in a sense. Even a moment in a lifetime is actually more than enough. How many meet themselves in this pure, open, naked way, empty of all notions, for even a few moments in their lifetimes?

So, the life has given us this space and openness even for this much; we are very, very grateful for it. [Silence]

There is nothing greater that you will ever discover about yourself than Your Being, than YourSelf; That which is aware even of this Being. And it is just so ever-present that you will See that all this trying has just been a game, has just been a play. We have tried to be ‘something’. But the dropping of ‘something’ is not a trying. It is what is naturally available to you, in this moment. Just ‘Ah…’ [Closes eyes and smiles]

There’s nothing you have to do to create this. You Are This. And you can never leave this. Although attention for a bit can seem like it is going too far from your true Self; it is never true. Attention never leaves You. But like I said, don’t worry about trying to grasp these insights yet.  Just enjoy YourSelf. Not your objective self (which is also available for your full enjoyment, of course) but enjoy YourSelf which is the unchanging One…, Your natural, original Existence.

[Silence]

And suppose even that these objective distinctions were real, and the apple was an apple and you were this body. The taste of the sweetest apple; does the joy come from the apple? Or does it come from You?

So, the Source of all joy must be You. You don’t have to look anywhere else.

A: So, who is aware of that which is changing? Is that you or another? What can we say about this one? Is It Itself changing? Then It is You! And It is aware. [Chuckles] And? [Silence] You will not find much to say about it.

Q: In the pure Seeing, there is no objects.

A: In the pure Seeing, there is no objects; yes!

Q: When I close my eyes… [Laughs]

A: Okay, but when you open your eyes?

Questioner: But that problem must be solved. [Chuckles]

A: That which is aware of the eyes closing and opening, is that an object?

Q: Problem is though, I see objects. In the pure Seeing, there is no objects.

A: Pure Seeing Itself is not objective in quality and yet there is nothing really outside of It. Even the appearance of objects is just an appearance within Itself.

Q: When I close my eyes, it is very tangible what you say. But when I open my eyes…, I know I am aware. I can see my body, I can see all these objects; all these bodies as objects.

A: Yes, they are all objects.

Q: They are essentially all object.

A: So now, how is the pure Seeing touched by any object or affected by them? Did it go away?

Q: The Seeing didn’t go away. Then it gets attracted to certain things. You know? This is beautiful…

A: Okay, so if there is attraction, attention wants to go to a specific object. What happened to the Seeing?

Attention exists in the light of your Seeing. Does attention exist because You exist? Or do you exist because attention exists?

Q: Because there is attention, we know we exist.

A: But Knowingness is dependent also on attention to an object?

Q: Yes.

A: But can there be attention without this Knowingness? Can you testify to anything unless there is a Knowingness of it?

Q: Unless there is a Knowingness, I cannot Know attention.

A: Therefore, what? It is just subsidiary, just an aspect of You, but does not get in the way. If you did not have an idea that ‘This is how it should be’ …, the Self or the Seeing, if you did not even have the notion ‘pure’ and you just let everything be as it is; not trying to get to any stage?

Q: But then something is moving. I have to close my eyes for that.

A: Nothing wrong with closing your eyes. I am also closing my eyes many times. But I am just saying: Does that change anything for You in Reality; except the taste of your experience changes? You see?

It’s like saying that when you eat a grape, you have all your attention on the grape. The taste seems much more alive and vibrant because your attention is focused on that (versus where you are just eating the grape and working on the computer, talking to someone; you don’t even notice the taste).

Are we just talking about the quality of the phenomenal experience and the by-products of it, which could be joy or bliss? Or we are talking about something fundamentally being different, depending on whether eyes are closed or open?

Q: Not fundamentally different; just the ecstasy factor is still much of an assumption.

A: So, what stops you from closing your eyes? [They laugh together] As much ecstasy you want is available to you; on tap, no? [Laughing] As long as you want the taste of that, Consciousness will play with that. It’s a beautiful taste, too.

Q: Yes. [They laugh together]

A: So, what might seem like a ‘But…, (something)’ is not a ‘But’ at all. It’s included. You want ecstasy, eyes closed. Want a break from ecstasy? Eyes open. [Laughing together]’

What actually what I am showing you is your own Presence. There is no higher taste. Even the taste that you might be experiencing in the physical form of the Master is only arising because of your own Presence, the Existence of your own Being. I’m constantly just pointing you to that. But thankfully, in the design of this play, it is designed like this so that until you find this for YourSelf, within YourSelf, you don’t get super distracted with too much else. For some, it plays like that. So, it is good.

[Reading from chat]: She is saying “Please help me be rid of this oscillation; this coming to the true insight, and then experiencing all these emotions which I don’t want to experience, and then trying to pick up this spiritual protection in a way.” She is saying that “I’m tired of this, I’m just tired of this back and forth.” [Silence]

Now, I know that you know that the answer is that whatever you’re tired of is already gone [Smiles] …, unless you pick up some idea of past and future. So, one way is to see this is that ‘Right Now, I just exist independently of whatever might have happened and whatever is going to happen. My Truth, My Being, is untouched by any experience.’ Or you can ask yourself ‘So, who is this ‘me’ that is tired?’ What will become the journey, what will become seemingly-cumbersome is that if I also start buying into the idea of this ‘me’ then we start dealing with the situation pretending that there is a ‘me’ here and a ‘me’ there, and both these ‘me’s’ are trying to help each other. There’s too much presuming in that. [Silence] So, if I say to you that ‘The one who has asked for help has been helped and is gone; Now you are fresh’ [Silence] …, does it sound like mystical mumbo-jumbo to you? [Laugh]) Sounds like a situation that can’t be? ‘I need help!’ [Chuckles] But you present ‘this one’ …, that is the problem.

[Reads chat]: “Why is it not sticking?!” (And you’re writing big caps now, big letters.) [Chuckles] “Why is it not sticking permanently!?” (If my throat was better I would have shouted it out.) “Why is it not sticking here that I am always fresh in the moment? I keep forgetting.”

Yes, this is just a habit. I believe Satsang is for this habit. If this habit was not there, we would See that this is so true, what is being spoken: Your Being is complete and fresh. It has no past, it has no future. It is All There Is. It is so apparent to You.

If Being itself had not picked up this play of picking up the limited ideas about Itself, then we would not present this Satsang every day. No matter what the conditioning is, we all feel like we have some special conditioning that seems to be the most sticky. But, actually all of humanity seems to be struggling with the same mode of variables. [Silence] And blessed are those who are able to get this glimpse of this Being, this Freshness, this Newness; even for a moment in their lives. So, while you are saying ‘Why can’t I just stay like this? Why does it go away?’ …, do you think it would be a little bit grateful to say that ‘I am so blessed, that amongst the thousands of Beings that I have met in this world, I’ve at least had a few moments of this recognition.’? [Silence] How much of your family is in Satsang? How many among the people that you know are in Satsang?  They’ve not even had a moment of this.

Instead of grasping for ‘Why this? Why? Why can’t I have more of this?’ [Covers Heart with hands] …, there is more a sense of ‘Thank you. Thank you. I see now what I Am.’

Then something seems to settle more easily this way.

So much of our focus, time and attention goes on these appearances of phenomena, sensations; that which I say is on this side of the ‘I Am’. [Holds up one hand in the center and the other hand in front of it; ‘I Am’ being the center hand, and the hand in front representing ‘I am something’. In this demonstration, he often also moves that hand behind the ‘I Am’ signifying ‘I-Awareness’ prior to even ‘I Am’.]

So, once you exist, you see that in the light of Existence Itself, this entire phenomenal play starts. And it is a compelling play. But much of our time has gone into identifying as objects within this phenomenal play. We have considered ourself to be something which is appearing in the light of Your Being.

So, when I ask you the question ‘What is aware of even this Existence?’ it is actually an invitation to check on something which is prior to this primal phenomenon. That which I call ‘on this side’. [Moves the moving that hand behind the center hand which signifies ‘I Am’ so that the moving hand is now positioned to signify signifying ‘I-Awareness’ prior to even ‘I Am’] There are no sides here but this is a metaphor to explain that on this side of your existence [places a hand in front of the center ‘I Am’ hand to signify the ‘I am something’ position] is the entire play of all that is phenomenal. And it’s fine; we have been interested in that and that is fine. But the invitation now is to just check if there is something else there beyond that which is phenomenal. And any of these pointers, any of these tools which the Sages have provided us, can be used to check.

So, what is That which is aware of Your Existence?

Is it dependent on the play of light and sound?

Is it dependent on anything else?

Everything here in the play depends on Your Existence.

You can’t have experience of it unless You exist.

What about That which is even aware of Existence?

What can we say about That?

And if for some time we are unconcerned about what that discovery means (at the level of our feelings, at the level of our mind, at the level of our body, at the level of our relationships) …, if just for a moment, we are not concerned about the meaning of this discovery or anything phenomenal…, only with this simple question: What is it which is even aware of my Existence?

[Silence]

Who is it that is aware of my Existence?

If it is You, what You is this?

And if it is not You, can you say it is another?

[Silence]

Is it possible to go beyond sensations and perceptions?

[Silence]

Is there a You which remains untouched, no matter what might be playing in the phenomenal world?

[Silence]

[Repeats]: Is there a You which remains untouched, no matter what might be playing in the phenomenal world?

[Silence]

That which witnesses all that is changing,

That which is aware of all change,

is That Itself changing?

And you can’t infer this answer.

You can’t calculate this answer.

You can’t logic your way to the right answer.

It is just an invitation to a deeper insight.

It has to unfold on its own.

That which is aware of all that is changing, is That Itself changing?

What I am saying is that if you were to throw away everything that you think and everything that I say, what is the insight you are having about yourself?

And I am proposing to you that what I am sharing in Satsang resonates with that direct insight.

But you have to tell me that ‘No. When I check really about that ‘what I am, where I am’ …, what you are saying does not resonate with that. What I am thinking actually resonates more with that.’ And if you say that, then of course I would not say ‘No, don’t go just with what mind is saying.’ I am just proposing that: Let’s for a minute presume that what is this mind is saying about you is not the Truth about You. See if upon your own investigation you find that the words of Satsang are true or what the mind is saying is true.

So, first you see this for yourself. And then when you see this for yourself, then you will find that ‘How should I be with someone who is undergoing all of this pain?’ is not a problem that you have to solve anyway. Because in the light of Your Existence, automatically the thought flow just flows.

So, what matches more with your insight about yourself? Does your thinking match it more? Or does what you are hearing in Satsang match it more?

Q: Satsang.

A: Yes, that is why it is important. Because we have to have our own discovery as the pillar for this. The words of Satsang can just be pointers, they can just be clues for your exploration. But if it just becomes about two different types of concepts that you to deal with; one is the concept that ‘Oh, I am this; that life has all of this is struggle and trouble’ and there is another concept which seems like ‘Oh, but you are not here at all; you are not in this universe.’ (That seems very convenient.) [Chuckles] It can seem like that, isn’t it?

And I know that the habit in the natural way in this world has become to treat that as reality, which is that ‘I am this individual and I have all this trouble to deal with.’ And you will hear this voice in Satsang which is saying ‘But just examine for yourself whether it is true. Don’t take my word for it, don’t just believe me. But just be open enough to check with yourself.’ And if at some point that is a disconnect, then I am very happy [to speak about it]. Otherwise, the mind is saying that you are limited and this sounds like a very convenient escapism or something like that; that I know the mind will say anyway.

So, I am not inviting you to escape from reality. I am actually inviting you to look at it without any glasses on; naked, look at reality and tell me what you find.

[Silence] And this will hold you in good step. No matter what comes in life, which teacher is there, which environment you are in, whether you are in war zone or you are in a nice place; if you just learn to rely on your own insight, then it is in very good step. You can’t disassociate. Somebody said ‘It’s like this, this, this’. [You may say] ‘Oh, I see it.’ And if someone comes and says ‘No, no, you can’t see it. You have to just take my word for it’ …, then you can safely run. [Chuckles] Because this must be verifiable in your own inner insight; what is being shared. Otherwise it’s just words.

What if I gave to all of you a magical basket in which we could put everything that was changing? A magical basket that can contain everything that you want to put inside.

So, what will you do with the world? In the basket or out?

Your job is to put everything which is changing inside the basket.

What did you do with the world? In the basket? The world includes this body or not? Because many can feel like they put the world in the basket but they leave the body separate. So, the body also gone into the basket?

[Sangha]: Yes.

Therefore, all the sensations that we call the body (pain; pleasure) also, in the basket. What about the emotional sense, all these emotions, where do they go?

[Sangha]: In the basket.

All these thoughts; all ‘doing’ and getting (or not-doing and not-getting). All these also in the …

[Sangha]: Basket. [Laughter]

All our memories, all the past, all our projections of the future, also in the basket.

All our imagination, also in the basket.

Is there anything left?

[Sangha]: Space.

In the basket? Or out?

[Sangha]: In the basket.

Time?

[Sangha]: In the basket.

The medium for change itself, the medium for seeming-change itself can be put it in the basket.

Now what is left? Did You go in the basket? Have You gone? You have put in everything. Have You also gone? What remains?

[Sangha]: Basket. [Laughter]

Basket also in the basket. What remains outside the basket?

What sees all of this changing? What sees the basket itself?

What is the quality of that one?

[Silence]

So, the basket is nothing but a modern metaphor for a very ancient process called ‘Neti Neti’. The point of ‘Neti Neti’ [‘not this, not this’] is not to push away anything, not to exclude anything, but to just check: What else is there?

All this realm of change is there.

Is there something which is unchanging about me?

Is there something about me which is beyond birth and death, beyond time and space, beyond light and sound?

Satsang is that play in which we come to this meeting of our own Being, of our own Truth.

Come to Your own company. They said Satsang means ‘The company of the Truth.’ Sometimes it is called ‘The company of the good.’

So, this Truth you are meeting now, what would you rather have instead of this?

[Silence]

If the choices were like this: You have this beautiful Presence of your Being verses you can decide to spend the next five minutes playing with the grievance you have with somebody else or some sense of pride you might have about something you did or some regret about something that didn’t happen for you about five years ago or remorse about not buying bitcoin at ten dollars. [Smiles] What would you rather play with right now?

[Silence]

The good news is that even if you were playing with all of that, Your Being is ever available; not going anywhere.

[Silence]

So, our coming to Satsang means that (for at least this period of time) we want rest in our own Presence, in our own God Presence, in our own holy Truth.

Q: Yesterday, Guruji [Sri Mooji] said something like ‘If this life is only for me, I don’t want it.’ Can you speak about it?

A: Me, if it is just restricted to…, like I would say that if this life is just being played out in a way where it is only for Ananta (what Ananta wants, what he wants to do next, what are the experiences he wants to experience; this desire for what Ananta would like, what does Ananta have to do to get those desires) …, if this life was just for that, it will not feel like having that. Because that is exactly what has been transcended here. We have seen that this one, this so-called Ananta, is just another appearance on the field of Your Unlimited Consciousness. So, we would not want this universality now to become constructive only; back to ‘What’s in it for me?’ You see? ‘What’s in it for me?’ and ‘What should I do to get it?’

It’s a bit like we’re discovering the ocean and then trying to fit it in the coconut. [Smiles]

So, it is Seen now that there is one Self, and the play of this life is just like the play of all other lives which is appearing in this. And this Being, this Consciousness, is no longer believing Itself to be just restricted to one ‘me’…, one person, and one identity.

So, this is the feeling here about what he would have meant. [Smiles] Of course, it’s just paraphrasing Guruji. I hope it captures the essence of what he was trying to say.

Q: What is the connection between the feeling and the truth? Can the feeling be trusted? The doubt that comes to me is one that says to me ‘All that you really care about is the feeling.’ That motivates everything. You like the good ones and dislike the bad ones. By feeling, I mean for example, when one feels positive about life verses when it is just not an enjoyable feeling of being alive. Thank you so much for sharing beautiful Satsang. It is my joy to be in something so beautiful in this life.

A: What you are finding is that Your Presence, Your Being is a substratum for even all feelings. And as you are discovering that this substratum is unshaken, no matter what qualities of other sensations might come, including feelings, then naturally you will find that in the perfume of your Presence, of all these [peace, love, joy] there is no shortage; although there is no feverishness or expectations about them. There is never a lack of even this beautiful perfume of feelings like peace, like love and joy.

So, allow yourself to just taste you own existence, even if it feels empty of sensational feeling for a bit. And as you get used to this taste of Your flavor-less Being, you will find that all flavors are in service to You. And pretty soon the distinction between good and bad will not seem so strong. It will still be tasted. You will still be able to differentiate between grief and joy, between salt and sugar. But you will not have so much feverishness about preferences, about wanting this taste verses that taste.

In fact, you might come one day to this Seeing that all these beautiful feelings are just in service to Your Presence.

How many of you still feel like you cannot find this Being? ‘It sounds beautiful. But what he is talking about?’ Is there anyone like this?  Even if you are feeling a bit shy to admit that and you feel it’s true about you, I have given a tool for this which is:

Instead of trying to find to the Being, try to stop being. Don’t exist.

And soon you will find that that is absurd because naturally, You are present. This Presence is the perfume of Your Existence, of your Being. So, stay with this Presence, stay with the perfume; and the Source of the perfume is clear.

I Am. I am not ‘something’. The ‘something’ has always been a notion, an idea. And it is gone.

And you are finding that all appearances (the appearance of this body which seems so intimate to you, the appearance of all these other bodies, the appearances of all these places and spaces) all these are just movements of light and sound, designed in such a way to make it feel like something can contain You. But actually, all is just contained on Your own screen, on Your own Being, in Your own light.

And this is Your very experience. You have never experienced the world without You being there. You might have experienced the world in an in-the-body experience or out-of-body experience. The body could be there or not there. You could have had a in-life experience or a near- death experience, but whatever experience there is, You have to be there. Your Existence is undoubtable.

So, it is this ‘I Am’. This Being, in this maya, in this play, has been confused to be ‘I am something limited. I am something with a boundary. I am something which had a start and will have an end.’ There is nobody who has continued to play with these notions and not suffer. That is also part of the design of the play itself. If you play with lies, then the seeming-suffering also comes as a result of that. It is just that after a point you see that it’s just too much hard work. Too much energy goes in picking up notions about yourself. No energy goes in resting as You Are.

In India it is said that ‘God, Guru and Self are the same.’ So, whether we say God is Here or Satguru is Here or Self is Here or the enlightened Being is here or Buddha is Here or Christ is Here, it doesn’t matter; the words don’t matter. You are Here. And this You has been misunderstood (or let’s say, at least, that the game of misunderstanding has been played).

So, let these words not be just some words that I am speaking and you pick up some concepts about them. May this be your tasted experience.

You are the limitless Self, the unbounded ocean.

A: So, who is here?

[Chuckles] [Glances at audience and repeats the question]

[Someone says]: God.

[Laughter]

A: The same one that I met first thing in the morning. [Chuckles] [Referring to a story he shared in Tiruvannamalai during the retreat]

You want to find this one? If you are in Satsang, it means either you already recognize that ‘It Is’ or you are looking to find this one. Nothing else really is on offer here. Your Being. Your Existence. Your Is-ness. Your Self. It is Your ever-present Reality. It would not be worth it unless it was Your present Reality.

And you have only experienced Your own Presence, Your own Existence. You only ever experience this, Your own Self. The idea that there is something missing in it is a super-imposition; it is not the Truth. So as you are meeting YourSelf without any idea about yourself, what is that you’re finding?

[Audience replies]: Peace. Mind is quieter. Heart is burning with love.

A: Some of you are also feeling that ‘It has always been Here. How is it that I missed this for so long? ‘I Am’ has always been what I am.’

I was saying the other day that if the greatest Being came to you (let’s say God came to you) in a physical sort of way, in a phenomenally apparent way, what would you exchange it for? The greatest Being, in the Presence of which all auspiciousness comes on its own. All our effort, all our doing and trying, making life happen, all of this is naturally unfolding in the Presence of this Being. No idea about doing anything is needed. No idea about wanting anything is needed. And no sense of separation is experienced naturally in the Presence of such a Being. Now, what offer can come in the world that will make you want to exchange this for something else?

In the Presence of this Being, you find that there is immortality. It is the eternal Truth. You recognize the Self which is unchanging. These are natural gifts of the Presence of this Being. And if this Being was available to you, what is it that you would value more than this? [Silence]

And if you were to spend the next few moments with this Being verses something else, what would that something else be?

[Reads question]: “I am starting to understand that life gives me so much suffering not because it is me, but to transcend and to See that it does not exist. So far, it is just a small window of clarity and still I am burning. Could you clarify further?”

Yes. Very beautiful what you say. You see, it is not vindictive, like Guruji [Sri Mooji Ji] says.

It is not mean, in fact. And the point of suffering then seems to be to transcend it. And once you transcend it, you actually come to this (which you said later) which is to see that it actually doesn’t exist. That which seems so clear, as if it is a lake of water, we saw it was just a mirage.

Why? Because it is not that the sensations of pain did not exist, that the appearance of some events appear, but because the sufferer was always presumed. The presumed individual sufferer never really existed. So, to transcend suffering only means is to transcend our individual identity.

That is why Bhagavan’s [Sri Ramana Maharshi] question was ‘Who am I’? Once you see that this entity which was a presumed sufferer has not even a little bit of tangible existence, has just been an idea, then you See that an idea itself does not even exist. So, how can it suffer, except in ideas itself?

So, to transcend suffering, one needs to transcend confusion of the mistaken identity. That is why I have said that ‘All confusion is actually just confusion about who we are.’

Now, at least for a few months now, I have been the bearer of some very good news, which is that: All that needs to be done already is so. This moment is bringing you this gift just naturally. Everything that you are hoping to transcend is already gone.

If you say ’but, but, but, it is not gone’ …, then all that is left to transcend is the ‘but, but, but, it’s not gone.’ [Smiles] Whatever notion or idea we might pick up about it is that which remains to be transcended.

How to transcend it? Gone.

Now, you have to scramble to suffer. You have to scramble, you have to work hard, to suffer. So, the more difficult path is to stay as an identity. The least [difficult] thing is to give it up. Because what could be easier than not having to do anything at all? In not having to do anything at all, God is here. But ‘you’ have to do a lot; play with attention, belief, all of these things, for you to be here (or pretend to be here) individually. [Smiles]

So, what is easier?

Just let God be.