BOOKS BY ANANTA Welcome to Satsang with Ananta

Looking back, I feel like a lot of this year has gone into showing you that you don’t have a boundary, that you don’t have a limitation. And many of you have checked this and seen that all limitations have either been an idea that you had or have been some sensation which you are feeling that it defines you.

Your limitlessness is Here, Right Now. You don’t need to take a magic pill which will make you limitless.

It is what You Are.

[Silence]

This is your own discovery, your own insight. You are discovering that You Are the Ocean itself. But the play some of you are playing is that you are trying to fill this Ocean into a coconut. You are trying to get your mind to approve this. It is trying to get the ‘mind certificate’ saying ‘Yes, yes, you are the Ocean’ but the mind is that limited instrument which is designed to convince you about your limitation, about your individuality.

You are Seeing that you are the Ocean, but you are believing what the mind is saying that ‘You are still a coconut.’

You cannot gather Your magnitude into this limited object.

You want to own freedom personally; you cannot do that. The body will not become free. It is not this body which is finding freedom; You are. Then the body is seen like all the waves are seen…, a part of You, on the surface of You.

A big part of last year has also gone into dealing with all the ‘But …, but…’ All the doubt. ‘Yes, I see this, but… Yes, I know this, but… But I saw it also last week, but…, it is gone now.’ All this; all the doubts.

And over and over, I have invited you back to Right Now…, to See what You truly Are…., to experience the Truth about YourSelf; not in what it means to the future ‘you’…, not what happened to you yesterday, not any idea that you have about yourself, but in Reality what You Are.

[Silence]

We have spent many months studying the beautiful Ashtavakra Gita, and it’s so beautiful. Every verse is a beautiful clue to this insight about the Self. [Silence] Each one of them, any one of them, can blow away any idea of identification that you might have.

[Silence]

We have been blessed with the Presence of Satsang and the words of Satsang.

I have said often that most of Satsang is not in the words. It is in the Presence of Satsang itself that a lot of the identification getting cleaned up is happening. But this does not mean that the words are not important. The words are beautiful pointers that you are using for your own contemplation. And this is the best use of the words of Satsang. The best use of the words of Satsang is not that you believe them (that might be the worst use, actually. If you are creating another new belief system based on the words of Satsang, then that is not the intent). The best use of the words of Satsang is, after you hear them, to check them for yourself.

If the Master says that ‘You are the one solitary witness of all there is’ …, (the beautiful words of Ashtavakra) ’The one solitary witness of all there is’…, he says You are! What prevents us from checking on this right now? Just some doubt can come, some resistance can come. But you are valuing the Truth more than doubt. You are checking: ‘The great Sage has said this; would he be lying? It must be the Truth. Let me find out That which witnesses all things.’

And where do you come to? You come to Your own Self.

[Silence]

The pointer is very clear, your insight is very clear. But many, many, many times we will buy into this doubt from the mind which says ‘But I didn’t see anything at all. I didn’t find the Self.’ And we spent a lot of time on explaining that you will not find the Self as an object; you will not find something which has some quality, some attribute.

[Silence]

That is why I have given all of you this beautiful pointer ‘Are you aware now?’

Don’t get into ‘level confusion’. Don’t worry about how this body is presenting itself after it has found freedom. Because your discovery is not located in this body. This body is just another appearance on the surface of the ocean, on the screen of Consciousness.

I’ll end with a story about Adi Shankaracharya. So, the great Sage Shankaracharya was sharing with many people sitting around like this. He was sharing that ‘Brahman is the Truth, the Absolute is the Truth, and this world appearance is illusory, is a coming and going, an ephemeral appearance. He was sharing like this; and in those days, there were leopards and tigers roaming around. [Chuckles] So, then, one tiger came and Shankara was the first to run. [Laughter] He was sharing that the world appearance is illusory but Shankara was the first to run (while sharing this maybe; he just finished the sentence and started running). So, he went and climbed a tree, along with everyone else who was in Satsang with him. They all climbed trees, went to a safe spot. Then they waited for the tiger to go. After the tiger was gone, they waited a few minutes and they got down and Shankara got down.

They collected for Satsang again and he could see that people in the sangha were snickering at him. So, he said ‘What happened? Why are you laughing at me?’ They said ‘Weren’t you saying that the world is illusory and the only Truth is the Absolute, which is unchanged, unhurt? Then, when the tiger came, why did you run?’ And he said ‘My running was also part of the illusion.’   [Laughter]

So, this is what I mean. You don’t have to present yourself as some enlightened…, to present this body as some enlightened Master or something like this. [Sri Nisargadatta] Maharaj said very beautifully ‘I let my worldly existence play as it wants. I remain as I Am.’

Nobody can predict the way it will play out for this body/mind…, whether the sharing of Satsang will happen from there or you will go into complete silence or whether you’ll lead the life of a regular house-holder; nobody knows. What events will happen, nobody can predict.

Forget about all fanciful notions about the body of the enlightened Master…, not needing sleep, having supernatural abilities, he can be at five places at the same time. If those things have to happen, they will happen. Let them be. But they are no proof of your freedom.

Remain in your notion-less Existence. Surrender any notion that you might have about yourself, or inquire into the Reality of it. Come to your emptiness, your neutrality.

Now, all of this that I said may be beginning to sound a bit complicated, so ‘How do I get to the Self?’ That’s why a big part of the year also went into showing you that, in your notion-less Existence, this Truth is apparent about YourSelf. There’s nothing that you even have to do. This is the best news ever! …, that that which you are looking for doesn’t have to be found at all.

I always say this is the best news, but when I’m sharing that, I don’t see that [reflected back] in the one that I’m sharing it with. [Laughs] I even asked one day: If somebody said ‘You! What are you doing sitting here? I saw your name; it was announced on the radio that you won a prize for 1 million dollars!’ More excitement would come if you were to hear news like this. [Laughs] But when I’m telling you that there’s nothing that you have to do, and it is apparent to You that You are this Self which is beyond time and space, you can’t show that [response to the good news]. Why is this not the best news that you will ever hear? …, that You’re beyond time and space; that the universe is just a ‘coming and going’ for You.

You are the eternal, primal witness of all of this; independent of anything you might get or not get in this life.

How to find this? Here and Now, it is already Seen…, what You Are.

Don’t go to mind for a certificate. Don’t buy the notion that this one is selling you.

What are You, Right Now? Are You contained in something? Do You have an age?

Don’t even wait for the mind to conclude whether this is true or not.

Nowhere to go; nothing to do. You have always been This.

If the Self is eternal, must not it be Here Now? Must not it be You?

If you are saying ‘God is everywhere’ are you really meaning ‘God is everywhere but me’? Or do you really mean it?

There is no separation that ever happened. All of this is the play of One Consciousness.

For the One that is All-There-Is, what could You possibly want?

For the One for whom all things are happening within It, what could It possibly do?

It is when Consciousness takes a position about Itself (even if it feels like it is the highest position, the enlightened position) it is still drawing a boundary around Itself. Empty of notions about yourself, you are free. If you believe in a location, in a reference point about yourself, you draw an imaginary boundary and you play this game of personhood; ego.

To leave the identity doesn’t mean that you have to renounce anything at all. Because for some of you it might be sounding like ‘Ananta is saying that I must renounce everything that is changing.’ The play of this life can continue.

The ocean does not have to renounce the waves. It just has to See that it is not contained in a wave. The waves can still continue; and will. It is just the mis-identification that ‘I am limited. I am a wave.’ Then you will see that the play of this life will continue to happen.

I See that the play of this life continues to happen. And I said the other day (only half-jokingly, actually) that Ananta is also a member of this sangha; of my sangha. He is not the one that is speaking. He is just an instrument for this sharing.

So, this life can continue. But that feverishness, that attachment to the objective appearance of the things in this life, they lose the power to create suffering because you are not attached to them.

The true Master holds up a mirror for you. And if you have the expectation that you are going to see ‘some-thing’ then again, you might be disappointed, because it is showing you that you are ‘no-thing’.

Not that you are nothing; but you are ‘no-thing’.

That which is the witness Itself of all things…, That in Itself is not a thing.

But it is the absolute Witness. It is not ‘nothing’.

And That is You.

Are you ready to meet God? Are you happy to just be limited person? Are you happy to just be something? Are you looking to become that which is beyond all things? [Silence] (Not even ‘become’ is the right word actually.) It is to See that You Are beyond all things.

Are you ready for the Truth?

Do you want to continue to play with identity; with that which comes and goes…, with the notion of yourself, (including the very humble sounding notion that ‘I am looking for the truth or searching for it’…, which itself can become an avoidance of it).

Many, I feel like, they come to Satsang but are un-willing to give up seeker identity. Because they feel like ‘Then, what am I? At least this I can hold on to. What I am finding about myself is too broad, is too big for me to handle. So, let me be the little old spiritual seeker.’ …, when all your insight is telling you otherwise.

(Christmas Day)

When I first met Guruji [Sri Mooji] in January of 2009, I used to get the distinct feeling that I am around the love of Jesus. You just always feel that he’s got the knowledge of the greatest Sages like Dattatreya. But to be around him, I just felt like what the disciples of Jesus would feel; to be enveloped in his love, to be enveloped in his grace, was the most beautiful feeling that I had. And I know that Garima [Ananta’s wife Tina Garima] also agreed with me; we felt the same. And we had met many Masters earlier, but this love was unique. This feeling of just being adopted by him, the feeling that everything is taken care of, is really, really beautiful. And we must all today express our gratitude to this beautiful Master who has not only shown the love of Jesus but also brought us to this Christ consciousness; Your own being, Your own Presence; this Truth.

So, when we hear somewhere that God says ‘I Am that I Am’ it is not just bundle of concepts. It is not something esoteric that we can’t figure out. We have found this God Presence in our own Heart. So, all our gratitude to Guruji and to Jesus Christ and to all the Sages that have shown us this in such a beautiful way. Is the same Satguru that resides in your Heart, which is Your own Presence; the Light of this universe. [Silence]

What have they all pointed to? This ‘I Am’ …, not the ‘I am something’. The rest of the world is pointing to ‘I am something’. What makes the Sage a Sage? The Sage is pointing to the ‘I Am’. And where can you find this ‘I Am’? God said ‘I Am that I Am’. He is taking about You: ‘I Am’.

Who doesn’t say ‘I am’? All of us do. But usually we say ‘I am happy, I am bored, I am dissatisfied, and I am excited.’ But before we add something to this (or ‘I am Ananta, I am Grija, I am this body. I am thinking that I want to go to New York.’) …, what is the basis? What is at the center of all of these? It is You.

This body has changed. You might feel like you had one body since you were born. But you had many. Not one cell in this body is the same as that baby who was born. But You have remained. Not one thought had stayed with you. All have come and gone; millions of them. Emotions, also coming and going all the time. Nothing has stayed constant.

But what about this ‘I Am’?

Who is that?

Does it have a name?

Does is it have a birth?

Who are you?

Our theme has been this: How do we go looking for the Self? And why is it that if the Self is MySelf, then why do we see so many frustrated seekers? [Chuckles] Maybe one basic misunderstanding could be there. The misunderstanding could be that you will perceive an object as the Self; you will come to the discovery of the Self as if it is an object. Or it will be, at least, an object of perception. Because I know when I say ‘an object’ you might think I am talking about just objects which are visible through sight. But I am talking about all phenomenon; even imagination, memory or whatever the experience of some phenomenon might be. We are expecting to find the complete Self as if it is some ‘objective’ appearance. And this is bound to be frustrating.

Now, if I was to tell you that the Reality of You is beyond phenomena, how would you go looking for it? Where would you go? Which direction? If you have to go beyond phenomena, where do you have to go to search?

So, if we change rules of the game…, our main rules have been to look for things objectively. If we said ‘You have to go to Gem Wellington.’ (Some are here for the first time) I say ‘Follow this direction; go left, go right, and there you will find it.’ Now the thing is, with the Self, you cannot find it that way. You cannot find it objectively, because it is beyond phenomena. So, now which way will you go? You might feel like ‘If I come to some special Satsang and the Master is really powerful, then I will have a special experience which is called the Self.’ But whatever the experience might be, it is only a by-product of the Self; just like any other experience. No experience is the Self.

Are you looking with me? Are you trying to decode this puzzle? How do we find something that is not phenomenal, that is not perceivable through either the senses or that which we call inner perception? Where to go? Left or right? Up or down? [Chuckles] Front or back?

Non-phenomenal means not in time or space. There is nowhere you can travel that will get you the Self. And you don’t have to wait for the starting point; that the Self will come (like it has a beginning). So, just waiting at some place will also not get you the Self. [Chuckles] ‘The Self will come now.’ That’s not going to happen, because those are definitions of phenomena. How to find that which is non-phenomenal?

So, the Sages have given us these clues. Bhagavan [Sri Ramana Maharshi] said ‘Ask: Who am I?’ What is this simple teaching, simple pointing? Whatever you perceive, find out what witnesses that. Like Guruji [Sri Mooji] says ‘Can this perceiver be perceived?’

Starting to leave the phenomenal realms? Or no? [Chuckles] So, that which we call ‘inside’…, (some of you would have answered ‘I can only find it inside; I cannot find it outside.’) …, that which we call ‘inside’ actually is beyond this phenomenal realm. It is not inside the body.

These questions ‘Are you aware now? Who is aware of your existence? Who am I? Can the perceiver be perceived?’ …, all of these are not subject to time and space.

So, I ask you (and with, as much innocence you can muster up) check if you are aware now.

Are you aware?

What is the color of this awareness?

Size? Shape? Age?

Is it coming and going?

Where are you in relation to this?

What is your position now?

And most of you, if not all of you, are coming to this simple recognition that I Am this Awareness, the Self.

Now the only doubt that remains is ‘But, what does this mean for me?’ [Chuckles] This is what I call carrying the ‘little me’ in your pocket while you took a dip in your un-associated Self. Once you see that You are this Awareness, where is the ‘me’ now?

Has this discovery of the untouched, unmoving, unborn Self been made by some ‘me’? Some ‘me’ has found it? Some entity has found it? [Silence]

So, if the Self Itself is playing this game of finding the Self, what can we say about this ‘little old me’? [Silence] If you were not to label any phenomena or any combination of phenomena as ‘me’ then what trouble can you have? If you labeled no sensation ‘me’ then there is no duality. (Advaita).

[Asking sangha]: Is there a ‘But…’ there?

What is this except a habit? You got into the habit of labeling some sensations ‘me’. But if you look for a moment, you will see that You are That unlimited, infinite space in which all these sensations come and go. Even if you are visualizing this now, even the visualization is contained in You.

Now, should we talk about ‘you’ as an individual? Or as Awareness?

And if you say ‘Speak of me as Awareness’ that is pretty much the end of Satsang. [Chuckles] It cannot really be spoken; it can only be pointed to.

A: What is your position now?

Empty of positions, what are you?

Q: Awareness.

A: That is the great thing about the Truth, that the Truth does not need anything. No notion is needed. Now, be a person without notion and show me. Can you do it? [Chuckles] Be limited without any idea, without any concept.

To represent something which is limited, you need a notion. The Truth is apparent without representation. [Silence]

If I was to propose to all of you that the only problem is our addiction to representing ourself conceptually, the only problem is that we are representing ourself as a made-up limited entity, and in reality, this problem is never real anyway…, would you agree or not? How many would not agree? And then you have to define the problem which truly is. You got the point?

So, at least this much clarity can be there. At least we know that we are talking about the same thing. Otherwise I could speak for another thirty years. But I am giving you the solution to this problem (which I am saying is the only problem) but you are thinking that the problem is something else. So, at least, can we agree that this is the only seeming problem…, that we are using a concept to define ourselves, which makes us seem limited? The concept could be based on the appearance of some emotions, some sensations; the sensations of the visual perception of the body. But there is a notion, none-the-less, that ‘I am something’. Bhagavan [Sri Ramana Maharshi] said ‘When ‘I Am’ is playing as playing as ‘I am something’…., that ‘I am something’ is the ground for suffering.’ [Silence]

I am suffering from ‘something’. [Nisargadatta] Maharaja said ‘You are not experiencing suffering, but you are suffering your experiencing.’ And how to suffer from an experience? Let’s do it ‘reverse Satsang’. Suppose your task is to suffer from an experience. Can you do it naturally, just by itself? So, what are steps you have to take to suffer?

Q: Resist.

A: Resist. How to resist?

Q: Shun it away with notions, interpretations.

A: How to resist? There must be nation which says ‘It should not be. It should be something else.’ Or ‘Why this?’ ‘Why?’ is one of the favorites. ‘Why me?!’ is the most favorite. ‘When will this end? When will it be something else?’ In all of these, whether the ‘me’ is indicated directly or not, it is definitely there indirectly. ‘When will this end…, for me? When will God come…, for me?’ This ‘me’ goes very uninvestigated. It’s the most uninvestigated thing. We will investigate more when buying a new car. We investigate that more than we investigate this ‘me’. If we investigate this ‘me’ as much as investigate for a new house or a car, I feel like ‘It’s done!’ We can’t hold on to the notion. But the problem is that we try to keep solving it for the ‘me’ without ever investigating the reality of this ‘me’.

Q: Like ‘I can change this.’

A: ‘I can change this.’ Exactly. The notion can be any of this. What is this idea of ‘me’? Who has a good idea of ‘me’? [Silence] ‘Me, me; it’s me! What do you mean me?’ It’s just this interpreter of perceptions, whose single-pointed agenda is to convince you that you are a ‘me’ …, a limited ‘me’. It will use this with all this might. ‘What is the point of asking this question? I am really not understanding. It’s too abstract. I don’t know what you are saying. This is the same old thing every day.’ You see, this thing. But the question which is asked is very simple: Who are you representing? Who is the ‘me’? [Silence]

Now, of all our friends and relatives, all the people that we know, if somebody was to buy a new house, they would investigate it. They would go see it, check the plumbing, check the walls whether they are leaking or not; check all of these things. Make a few visits at least. Check with the neighbors if it is a safe location. All this. But we live with this idea of ‘me’. Have we investigated it?

Q: Because it is easier to investigate objects.

A: Yes, yes. And that is in our training also, to find out what is the height of this mountain, to find out what is the depth of this ocean, then you have objective things to measure. Another name of Maya is ‘that which we can measure’. Phenomena. That is exactly what we are talking about. To come to some object and to look at that; why is it easier? Because this tool called the mind is very happy to investigate objective things. When you say ‘Find out who you are’ [the response can be] ‘What kind of question is that?’ And that is the design of this instrument called mind. It is doing its job very well. It is not failing in this function at all. It is designed to convince Consciousness Itself that it is a limited entity.

Who gives power to the mind?

Is there ever mind without You?

What we find actually, when we say look inside or go inside, is that this distinction between inside and outside dissolves. That you have an inside and you have an outside means that you must have a boundary; you must be having a separating line which divides something which is inside from outside. You’re finding that there is just one. Even in the world of perception, there is just one appearance. My Being in which all of this is arising is not separate from the Knowing of it.

This is what we were singing also actually. ‘One Self, one Truth.’ Whether you call it Absolute or you call it Govind, that is just a question of terminology. All distinctions have just been made up actually, to define some qualities that we are tasting, where we have sometimes bunched some of them and given them a name. Therefore, I have created a separation. What divides me and you? [Silence] What divides me and you? If the concept of ‘here’ and ‘there’ is not there, then is there a division?

[Silence]

Is there anything which divides Your Existence from That which is aware of it?

[Silence]

What divides the hand and the finger?

[Silence]

Now, suffering is a sense of separation; an idea of separation. That’s why [Nisargadatta] Maharaj said ‘You are not experiencing suffering but you are suffering your experiencing.’ Experience has always been this oneness, actually. This has never gotten divided. If the Self ever got divided, who could put it back together again? All the king’s men and all the king’s horses could do it. [Chuckles] (This nursery rhyme we are telling to the children.) Nothing could do it. It is just a misconception. And what happens with misconceptions is that when the light of Knowledge, of true insight (not a mental knowledge but true Knowledge) shines on misconception, what happens to the misconception? It just vanishes. Does something have to change physically for that? No. It was just a misunderstanding. It’s like if you believe that you are sitting in Kormangala. Then I came and told you ‘No, no this is not Kormangala, this is Mugeshpalaya.’ [Chuckles] Did I have to physically change you from Koramangala to Murugeshpalya? No, I just told you and you checked for yourself that this is true. That is all that is happening.

Q: Father, where is this understanding happening? Insight?

A: Inside Consciousness. Insight is happening in this Consciousness. Consciousness has been deluding Itself by picking up these beliefs in these mind stories and now It is checking for Itself again. Why is It doing it? It is Its play. There is no ‘why’ actually. [Chuckles]

So, what is happening is that I am telling you and you are listening and then you are looking. When you are looking, you are tasting. I’ve said very simply what has traditionally been described as Advaita sadhana. It’s very simple. Because I am saying: the listening of it is happening. Based on the listening of it, I am saying that you are not divided. You are checking: ‘What makes me divided? What makes me feel that I am divided?’ You are looking at some sensation and you’re seeing that it does not divide You. It is contained within You…, just as all other sensations are.

So, this is what you mean by contemplation. Not playing with mental concepts but checking for yourself. And as you are checking for yourself, you are tasting your un-limited-ness. This Consciousness tasting Its own Source (Itself) is what all spiritual paths are for. This is how this is so direct and straight forward.

Now, nobody really struggles too much with listening. Although sometimes it does happen that even when the words of Satsang are going on, the mind is (like Guruji [Sri Mooji] says) going ‘Blah, blah, blah.’ [Chuckles] It just not letting you hear what is being said. Sometimes that can happen. But mostly, after a few Satsangs, it starts to settle down and the hearing of it can happen.

Now, the hearing of it (that which you heard in the play) you can do two things with it. The first thing is that you can just pick it up and make it concept; add it to the basket of your knowledge. ‘Oh, I heard now it; now saying I am saying that I am not separate. That is what Master said, that I am not separate.’ See, this is just hearing conceptually. The second is (my invitation is for this) that you hear something like this, that ‘You are undivided; you have no boundary’ and you check it with you own inner investigation, your self-inquiry. Then it is checked directly. Then that becomes insight. Otherwise it remains conceptual.

All the Sages have consistently said one thing: It is when this ‘I Am’ is playing as ‘I am something’ then all this world of suffering can emerge. Now, this ‘something’ is a notion. In fact, in any notion, the presumed ‘something’ is present. So, as I’ve been saying these days ‘Come to your notion-less Existence’. In this, the Reality of the Self is completely apparent. Nothing needs to be spoken.

And yet, various ways have been prescribed. If the addiction was so mild that just upon hearing this ‘You are the Self, remain notion-less about yourself’ all notions could be dropped, then we could not need any prescription.

So, let’s presume this is the last Satsang [Chuckles] and do something very practical today. Let’s see if we can get to the heart of the matter.

So, I say to you: for the next few minutes, without any anchor, without any reference, without anything to do, just remain empty of all notions. And don’t judge yourself about anything. So, for the next few minutes, just remain notion-less with no concept about anything at all. And if any concept is picked up, it’s okay; let it be. Leave it behind. Got it?

[A few minutes of silence]

Very good; very good. How many of you feel that ‘The wandering mind is too much and I cannot remain notion-less; just in this natural way’? Most spiritual seekers have this sense. It is said in India that the elephant is walking through the marketplace but it’s trunk in very restless. When the elephant is being walked through the marketplace, his trunk is picking up things and disrupting all the shops. It can seem like that ‘something’ being picked up (‘I am something’) that notion is like this elephant’s trunk. So, the Sages have prescribed many different ‘sticks.’ What does the owner of the elephant do? He puts a stick in the trunk and gets the elephant to hold the stick in its trunk; then as it holds the stick, it doesn’t seem to move about so much, here and there. So, all the prescribed methods actually are just this stick; just this anchor for us to get anchored in the Being, without picking up concepts about ourself.

Now, this is like a practical workshop today. So, try all the various anchors and see which one feels the most comfortable. And if nothing was needed, then nothing was needed anyway; then, just play with this. It’s just a play.

So, let’s say that the first anchor is to just remain as the primal Witnessing, the Witnessing Itself; That which is aware of all things but in Itself is not a thing. Understood? So, for the next few minutes, we take a position. The anchor is a position; to remain as the Witnessing Itself; That which witnesses all things but Itself is not a thing. Remain the Sakshi; remain the Witnessing. If we anchor ourself in this Witnessing, actually it is not truly a position because it is non-phenomenal; but it can feel like it, it can seem like an anchor which can stabilize us. So, let’s take a few minutes and remain just as the Witnessing.

[A few minutes of silence]

Okay, very good; very good. So, some of you will find this very comfortable, and some of you will find this completely abstract. You might wonder ‘What is this witnessing?’ So, the next possibility for an anchor…?

Remember what we’re doing? We’re using an anchor to not pick up any notion of ‘something’. So, the first one was: In Seeing that I am the Self, we just remain empty of all notions. And for some of us it has become comfortable like this.

Then we said ‘I will follow the advice of the Sages and just remain as the primal Witnessing Itself; That which Itself is not an object but witnesses all other objects.’ But sometimes, our mind seems resistant to this because it seems too abstract; it doesn’t know what to hold onto.

Then, some of the most famous Sages like Nisargadatta Maharaj have suggested that we stay with the sense of Being, the sense ‘I Am’. So, what is the sense ‘I Am’? I ask you to ‘Try and stop being. Don’t be for a moment.’ Then you don’t have to chase this ‘I Am’…, you can see that it is so apparent; that which cannot stop being is this sense ‘I Am’.

So, this Beingness, sense of Presence, sense of Existence, for the next few minutes, we will just stay with that; just keep our attention on this Being…, very naturally, playfully. We’re not doing anything serious. Just with a gentle smile on your face, if possible. Very relaxed. For the next few minutes, just stay with your sense of Existence, with your Being.

[A few minutes of silence]

Okay, very good; very good. Now, some of you will still feel like all of this is very confusing; too abstract. You need something more tangible to hold onto. It can feel still like ‘These words…, what is this Existence? What is this primal Witnessing?’ And you must, at some level, have integrity in your Heart and just see ‘What is the best medicine which seems to be working for me?’ Forget about what is highest, what is lowest, what makes you the most accomplished seeker. It is not about that. Whatever is the seeming-way for this concept-less-ness; all paths lead to the same goal. So, for those of you [who feel that] (in fact, for all of us; we’re all playing with this) then we hold onto something more tangible.

One generic more-tangible sound or mantra that all of us can hold onto is ‘Ram’. But if in your Heart, there is a natural devotion for something and you know what can serve as remembrance to that, as devotion to that, you can use that as your mantra or phrase. The rest of us will just stay with the inner chanting of ‘Ram’. At your own speed, at your own pace, let everything dissolve in this holy name. [Silence] So, it can be ‘Ram…, Ram…, Ram…’ Chant inwardly. So, for the next few minutes, just stay with this mantra…, and allow everything else to dissolve into this.

[A few minutes of silence]

Very good; very good. Now, some of you will find that the minute you decided to stop, the mantra just goes on chanting on its own. And if it does, then allow it to. This is called Ajapa japa. The japa [chanting] is happening without the stance of the idea that ‘I am doing it’.

For some of you, this might not be clear. (We might change this on YouTube later.) So, this is for all of you. Coming to this notion-less-ness, first in the simple letting go of all notions; empty of any anchor, empty of any concept. Then, for those who can feel like ‘No, this is too difficult and my attention is wandering too much’ we’re looking at various anchors that have been provided by the Sages throughout history. So, we’ve looked at the anchor of remaining as the primal Witnessing. We’ve looked at the anchor of just being, keeping our attention on the sense ‘I Am’. And then, we looked at the anchor of using a holy name to keep our attention centered; the mind not so distracted.

Some of you will feel like ‘None of this is really working and no word is actually appealing so much or taking hold so that attention is staying with this.’ So, what has been prescribed? Many paths (especially in the path of Buddhism) there is this practice of mindfulness, which implies the technique of keeping your attention with your breath; and then later, with all the actions (as you’re in the action, being with the action completely). But the anchor point, the main anchor point, is the breath. Let’s try this for a few minutes. Just whatever might be coming and going, we remain with the breath.

Some of the Indian Sages have also prescribed (if this helps for some of you) that as the in-breath is coming, we hear it as ‘So’. When the out-breath is going, we hear it as ‘Hum’. So, then it becomes mantra and breath at the same time.

So, just feel your breath very naturally; again, playfully, just having fun, not doing anything serious. Just remain with your breath. And if the mind distracts you, nothing to worry about. Just gently come back to it. Just gently come back to your breath. For a few minutes, we’ll just stay with our breath.

[A few minutes of silence]

Very good. Now, some of you will have the experience in the middle while you’re doing this that your breath has stopped. It might feel like your breath just stops. And sometimes it can feel like that, so don’t worry about it; don’t try to become all scientific about it. It’s nothing to fear. Also, it is nothing special. It’s no big deal at all; don’t make it a ‘thing’.

Naturally, as you’re using any of these anchors, you’ll come to your notion-less Existence where ultimately even the anchor will be dropped. [Silence]

Just for the sake of completion, for those for whom even this staying with the breath does not seem to appeal at all, does not seem to help us with this distractive ‘trunk of the elephant’ we can do some physical hatha yoga, Surya Namaskars, laughter yoga; any of this is good.

In the play, meet yourself with integrity, with honesty in your Heart. And the biggest blessing is (some of you, many of you, are blessed with) some devotion in your Heart…, that can make all of this very natural and playful. Even to remain notion-less without any anchor is greatly blessed if you feel like you’re always at the Master’s feet…, you’re always in the Master’s Heart.

[Silence]

The Satguru’s blessings are always with all of you.

It can feel like what I’m sharing is some Absolute position sometimes. But I feel my invitation to all of you, my request to all of you, is to See what you are, empty of all conclusions; empty of all positions. Any position that there is will then have the opposite position also; will have a dichotomy. So, if it feels like ‘Ananta is only sharing from the Absolute position; we can’t get him down off of that no matter what we do’ [Chuckles] then know that this is not true. All the sharing that is happening form here is not based on any conclusion. It based on what is being Seen, what the insight is Right Here and Right Now.

Sometimes the vocabulary, of course, can depend on previous terms used but the insight is completely fresh. And the point of Satsang also is not that I will have these insights and I will just share with you how beautiful Advaita is. It’s an invitation for you to have the same [insights]; to check Right Now what You Are…, without going to left or right, without making a conclusion, without taking a position.

So, I’ve been inviting you to this as one of the possible positions (of course, there are millions of possible positions) for over three years; the popular positions to take. One is the Absolute. One is that which is an expression of the Absolute. And one is that which is an individual position. These are the three most popular positions.

Now, in this moment, actually, naturally you are starting off empty of all of these three. No position actually applies to you here. [Silence] The mind will come with all its offers for its position (‘But…, but…, but…’) The notions might come; the various sensational qualities. This is the play of life. Outward seeming-events might happen. Everything has to function as it is.

As you come to this notion-less-ness, some of you will feel that all words are pointless. It’s completely fine. Enjoy this ineloquence (as I was saying yesterday). And some of you will feel that words are coming to describe my Reality, which is empty of positions. Now, whether that sounds like the Absolute position or it sounds like an aspect of that position or it sounds like an individual position…

Q: What is the middle one?

A: The middle one is that ‘I am a part of the whole’. A part of the whole. So, it is not the whole but is just a part of it. So, I’m like a ray of the sun. I am made up of the sun itself, but I am a ray of the sun. So, what we would call ‘Dvaita’ instead of Advaita; that there is a difference between the Absolute and ‘I Am’. That is the middle position. Because it can sound like ‘The whole is too much, it’s too big for me; and it feels like my experience resonates more with being connected to God in this beautiful way’ …, almost saying ‘I’m made up of a substance called God but I am not God in Its entirety.’ So, we can say it like that.

I’m not so concerned with this expression. I’m more concerned about whether that is coming from a conceptual position-taking or whether it is coming from your insight in your Heart.

Now, because we have gotten used to learning in this way (that we go to classes, we go to learn various things; we learn how to pick up new knowledge that gives us a better and better, seemingly-better and better, position) then it can feel like ‘What is the position that I’m learning about when I’m coming to Advaita Satsang? I’m learning about the position that ‘I Am the Absolute.’

We went to an ashram some time ago, and they were joking with me because they follow a different path. So, they were saying ‘What is this Advaita thing? You just keep saying to yourself ‘I am Brahman, I am Brahman, I am Brahman?’ [I say] ‘No, it’s not about saying to yourself ‘I am Brahman’ or ‘I am the Self’ or ‘I am the Absolute’ but coming to the insight of this, coming to the recognition of this.’ There is a difference between taking a position and what is true insight. There is a difference between inference and insight. If it is just learned knowledge, if it is just a tool, then it doesn’t help in that way.

Then what happens is that once we get caught up with this mind thing, then everything can be so popularly defended. Every route of communication, the mind will try to block it and say ‘This one is saying…’ And I’m sharing with you because it is helpful for many others who could be saying these things, that ‘Father’s just going to want to do the inquiry with me but I’m done with the inquiry; I don’t want to do it anymore.’ Or ‘Father will then say ‘Okay, just sit in the Presence and the Presence will take care.’ [Chuckles] And he’s right, actually, in what he’s saying. But after being in Satang for so long, the mind also knows these things, knows all these outward expressions, and it says ‘Okay, this is all that’s going to happen. What’s the point? It’s just pointless. Ananta he’s just straight ‘Observe’… ‘What are you? Who are you? You are Awareness? What is happening to Awareness? Nothing will happen.’ [Laughs] It can sound like that, outwardly. But if it is not your taste, then please don’t say that it is. When we do the inquiry together, then don’t make me feel good. Say ‘Father, I don’t think I’m Awareness or I don’t feel I’m Awareness.’

Many times, it takes strong events to happen in life, strong fears to come, for us to become full integrity in this way; full of integrity in this way, where you say ‘You are always talking about the Absolute, but I find that has nothing to do with my life. I still have to go make money, I still have to do my job, and how does learning ‘I Am That’ help me over there?’ You must say it, if you feel that.

And I was saying to all of you that I’m not prescribing a position. I’m not asking any of you to chant a mantra ‘I am Awareness’ [Laughs] or to hold onto a concept.

All I want to know is, when you’re empty of any notion about yourself…

What happens also in Satsang is that many times it might feel like ‘I came to Satsang for stability.’ [Chuckles] ‘I came to Satsang for stability’ but you might feel like even the ground which is under you right now is being shaken away. ‘He is saying that I am not even an object in this world. What kind of crazy talk is this? I came here to make this body-mind happy and he is saying that you are not this body-mind.’ [Silence]

So, ultimately the choice is that which will die or that which is beyond death. And that which is beyond death, where must it be Now? Can That which is deathless also come and go? If we have to wait for it, that means that will also be born. Isn’t it? If we have to wait for the Self to come, that means the Self is also born. And all that is born, does die. There is nothing which is born and does not die. Therefore, that cannot be the Eternal Self. So, if we’re not just all fooling ourselves and kidding ourselves and on some kind of spiritual fantasy, then the Self must be Here, Now. Otherwise it is just not worth it. If the Self will also come one day, then there is no point to that; because that which comes, goes. The Self must be Here; it must be unchanging. Is there anything like that here?

The Sages have given us one more clue which is very helpful: ‘That which witnesses all things that change.’ There are many other clues but these are enough. What witnesses everything that changes? This hand is moving [Gestures moving his hand] there is the perception of that. Isn’t it? But this perception is a constant? Even this perception comes and goes. Sight also; there is sight and then there is no sight, then sight again. What is aware of even this perception? What witnesses even sight? What is aware of your hearing? [Silence]

First, we can look at what perceives this movement of the hand itself? Another clue from the sages is: ‘Rely on your own intuitive experience; not learned knowledge.’ Because the mind, I’m sure, would have many thoughts about it. ‘Oh, this is how sight is happening.’ So, what is it from your own experience: Who is the perceiver? What perceives all that changes? [Silence]

No knowledge learned, no concept that has been picked up is helpful here because even these concepts have been constantly changing. All you have to rely on is your own insight.

I know this can feel a bit uncomfortable for a bit. It can feel like ‘If can’t rely on all that I have learned in the past…’ it can seem a bit strange; it can seem a bit wobbly. But this inquiry, this looking together, is so beautiful. It’s so direct. And you can see in an instant that you are beyond death. [Silence]

Come to this Immortal Being. You don’t even have to come to it, actually. Drop your masks. You don’t have to take a step. Let your masks fall away. Now, to drop your masks, to let them fall away: What are you right now?

It is a big misunderstanding if some of you feel that ‘Oh, the Master is trying to destroy my ego and make nothing out of me.’

When we let go of the false, you will see that you are that No-thing which is the Source of all things. You are much beyond even all things. [Silence] This Zero is beyond infinity. [Silence] The Master is pointing you to the zero which is beyond the infinite.

[Silence]

At which point do you become the basket of appearances? The world is changing, so everything that is changing we are going to put in the basket of appearances. Appearance is what? That which comes and goes. The world is changing, coming and going, so it goes into the basket of appearances.

This body (part of the world, should have already gone but when you first considered it, the world and this body were as separate things) so this body, changing, [it goes into this] basket of appearances; thoughts, changing [goes into this] basket of appearances; emotions, changing [goes into this] basket of appearances. What else? Sensations, pleasure, pain, changing [goes into the] basket of appearances.

I am going fast, but actually when you are alone you can sit in this; slowly, look at this. All things going, one by one. Where am I? Now, am I also now in the basket? Or some concept might be there; soul? If it is just a concept, concepts are also constantly changing [goes into the] basket of appearances.

What is your insight about yourself?

What wasn’t thrown in the basket?

Where are you? Outside? Inside?

Outside and inside is also changing, throw them in the basket of appearances.

What is left?

It is not fathomable by the mind.

It is Your Truth.

That is why my favorite question these days has become: What is real about you?

What is not an appearance?

The ‘you’ that you represent, is that real?

Or is it just an appearance?’

Try this, whenever you have a minute. Say ‘I’ and then check with yourself:

Who am I representing?

Who is this ‘I’?

(I.., I?)

Who is this one?’

Am I just representing this body? It would be so much simpler if you were just representing this body. We feel that body identification is the biggest problem, but this body, Right Now, is not concerned about money in the bank account; is not concerned about managers or employees at work; is not concerned with relationships. It is not even concerned about the health of the body. [Chuckles] It is that which claims to be the owner of all these things; the owner of the body, the owner of relationships, the owner of the money. The one that has the name; that seems to be the problem. Now, that is the mythical one.

Those who come to Satsang usually are looking for some rest. [Chuckles] Why? What happened? Because we have tied ourselves to ‘a crazy donkey’. What is this ‘crazy donkey’ that we have tied ourselves to? It is this changing world.

The minute we call something ‘mine’ in this world, it is an invitation to get tired, it is an invitation to suffer. Why? Because…, is there anything stable in this world? Does anything remain the same, always? All appearances are constantly changing. The funny thing is that because this mind is also constantly changing, even if the outward appearance is seeming to be stable, the mind wants it to start changing. [Chuckles]

Doesn’t it happen in relationships? We feel like ‘Ahhh, this is my perfect partner.’ Why? Because we are so different; opposites attract, for example. [Chuckles] And then, after a while, it’s ‘No, I wish she would change this about herself, I wish she would speak like that, I wish she would like the temperature in the room to be this temperature.’ It can be anything. So, that which was initially attractive also starts to become unattractive because our mind changes. Even if this world’s appearance was constant, our mind’s opinion about it changes. [Chuckles]

So, that is the nature of this world. And then, as we have attached ourselves to these concepts of ‘mine’…, what is it basically? How do you look at this body in front and say ‘My Guru’? It is just a set of perceptions, isn’t it, in front of you? That’s why the Master is saying that ‘I am in your Heart; I am your own Being.’ Because what is the trouble with this ‘mine’? One: it is that which is always changing; not constant. That’s why we are always tired. And fundamentally, more fundamentally: it is dependent on the concept of ‘me’ …, which we have never found.

And without ‘me’ we cannot have ‘mine’. That’s why Sages have always talked about ‘me’ and ‘mine’. If we forget about ‘me’ then ‘mine’ is gone anyway.

That’s why one of my favorite stories (that you listen to often) is this story of the cat. So, there was once a cat who was born in this mirror-less world, so the cat couldn’t really see herself or himself. But the cat was told that ‘If you get the next bowl of milk, then you will be happy. Your only job is to get the next bowl of milk.’ What does that next bowl of milk mean? To get a good education, be a nice cat. [Chuckles] Then, get the best relationships, get the right money, get a healthy body. But the cat got tired, because none of this was remaining constant; all of this was constantly changing. And the feeling of happiness also that was derived from many of these things was not constant.

So, then the cat was told ‘Yes, what you need, because you are done with all of this, what you need is freedom! You need enlightenment! The never-ending bowl of milk, never-ending bowl of immortality, the nectar of immortality; that is freedom.’ You have been told this. Then you feel like ‘Yes, I am the wise cat who has seen through all of these trivial things, and now I want this final Master who will show the way.’ So, you lined up in Satsang, and the Master says ‘What do you want?’ And you say ‘I want that bowl of milk’ (whether you call it freedom, or whether you call it enlightenment or moksha, nirvana: whatever you might call it.) And the Master says ‘Who wants that? You must think that you are a cat, if you want that bowl of milk.’ And mostly the response is ‘Yes, of course I’m a cat! What do you mean?’ [Chuckles]

So, this is where, the conversation begins. Are you open to checking this in reality…, whether actually there is such a thing? Is there such a ‘me’? Is there such a cat? Is there such a person?

The Master says ‘I will show you a mirror.’ Are you willing to look?

Many will run off here. [Chuckles]. ‘No, no, no, I didn’t come here for a mirror. I came here for that bowl of milk; I came here for enlightenment. This mirror business is too crazy for me.’ [Chuckles]

Those who stay, then are asked to look, and check:

Who are you, right now?

What are you representing?

What is real about you?

[Silence]

If everything in this world is coming and going (and therefore they are called appearances)

then are you also an appearance?

Are you also something coming and going?

[Silence]

Is there something about you which is not coming and going, which has stayed the same?

What is that?

So, if the definition of Reality was ‘that which does not change’ is there anything Real about you?

[Silence]

And for many, this is very uncomfortable; this looking for that which is Real is very uncomfortable because all that we have believed about ourselves is being shown to be changing.

Nothing that we have believed about ourselves has been a constant. This body is changing, our emotions are changing, our thoughts are changing, our family is changing, our homes are changing, our Satsang hall is changing. [Refers to the new Satsang room] [Laughter] Nothing has remained constant. And because we have tried to make that which is changing into the constant, therefore, we are tired now. We want something that is Real. We want something that will last.

How about wanting Our Self?

Usually what is found is that as you are dipping into your own Self, usually words become very few. Someone comes and says ‘Who are you?’ Usually it takes some time before this (what you’re Seeing) can be put into articulation or words or conceptual descriptions.

You must enjoy this period of rest. Because you never know when it is that the Satguru will to start using this body as an instrument of sharing. Till then, enjoy your ineloquence, the lack of articulation.

For some of you, the ‘But…’ (the ‘But…’  monster) must be going crazy [Chuckles] saying ‘But…, but…, can this be it?! But it can’t be so simple. But how can I know this is true? But I don’t find anything.’ Tell this ‘But…’ machine to hit the road.

For some of you, it may not be so much doubt, like ‘but, but, but… ‘ For some of you it can be ‘Yeah, yeah! And…?’  ‘Yeah, also; and…?’ [Chuckles] trying to say that ‘I’ve really understood something’ but usually this ‘and’ consists of conceptual garbage; just ideas.

Both the doubt and the specialness are just forms of the mind resisting Your neutrality, resisting Your emptiness. The doubt and the proclamation are not needed here. You don’t need to proclaim this Truth to anyone. Because I already know what You are…., because I know what I Am.

And I’m not saying this because I want to encourage some sort of humility or something. This is not about some worldly humility. It’s just that I know the nature of the mind and it can grab you; either with these doubts or with these proclamations, conceptual proclamations, of the Truth.

Then words will come from your mouth one day which will smell of your Heart. [Silence] And then I’m always happy to sit at your feet.

Till then, You have to do Yourself this favor of not exchanging the holiness of Your Presence, the Divinity of Your Being, with just a concept of yourself. It might be a very well-dressed concept but it is still not worthy of You. No concept can capture .00001% of your Divinity, which is already Here, Right Now.

If you build a mountain of concepts, can you build one physical atom with it? Can you build one ounce of love with it; one gram of devotion with a huge mountain of concepts? Not possible. Your existence is so beyond any conceptual understanding, You will come to the limits of your perception, and you will come to the limits of your reasoning and intellect…, and that will not be even a scratch on the surface of Your Consciousness.

Truth for Truth’s sake. Or are we looking for by-products of the truth; therefore, another way to fulfill our desire? Just yesterday or the day before, I found a beautiful quote of Saint Augustine who was also speaking the same thing: God for God’s sake. Because if it is another way to fulfill our desire, then the plate of desire is never full. It sees some cannelloni lying there that it likes. It says ‘May I have that cannelloni?’ It’s on the plate. And then it’s not looking at cannelloni and feeling happy anymore; maybe it’s only looking at ravioli. The next minute it sees tiramisu. ‘Can I have the tiramisu? No, I didn’t eat all of these.’ So, this is the plate of desire, which is never full; something or the other or the other.

There comes point in life where longing for the truth becomes so strong that we are not so concerned about the by-products. The most of you, are not so concerned about by-products. But you are still using by-product as some start of a bench mark for how free you are. So, if some anger is coming, you’re saying ‘Oh, some anger is coming, and therefore I must not be though yet.’ If some lust comes ‘Oh, lust came, I can’t be though. How can lust come?’ Like, these kinds of concepts, then you feel like ‘Oh, I am still bound.’ But this is not true. Whatever might be coming, where it is coming? Where is it coming?

You feel like you are this three-dimensional object in this world or some silly idea like that. But I can show you that you are more than three-dimensions right now. When you go inside, where are you going? When you say ‘go inside’ …, where are you going? Up, down; where are you going? Where is that? It is I. And the truth of this is so clear so, so apparent. It is not that we close our eyes and then we don’t experience this three-dimensional space. You are already space.

You are not some object this world. This body; where is this body appearing? In that same space of Your Being, where the entire world is appearing. That is why Sage Ashtavakra can say that ‘You are that shore-less ocean in which the arcs of universe, they come and go.’ Do you feel that the Sage could be lying? Sage Ashtavakra who has been revered for thousands and thousands of years said ‘You’…, ‘You are the shore-less ocean in which arcs of universe come and go.’

The ego is just nothing but misunderstanding. That in which the arcs of the universe come and go, That is now considering Itself to be a tiny three-dimensional object. Therefore, you want other objects; to feel like you are becoming bigger. But no matter how much other material, phenomenal possessions you get, it is never enough. Because it can never compare with Your Reality. Have you wondered why this desire is always so bottomless; this continuous, bottomless pit? It is because you know in Your Heart that You are much bigger than all of this. But in this play as an individual, you’re trying to get more and more objects, more and more relationships, more and more things to fill yourself up. But does this mean that when you are no longer buy into this fallacy of being a person…, if the fallacy is dropped, does is mean that relationships have to be dropped? No. Does it mean that food has to be dropped? No. Does it is mean that anything has to change about this play? No. You see? It is just that your vantage point will change…, because your perspective about yourself will change. The rest may change or not change; it’s fine. What is important is that to See YourSelf clearly, what You Are.

[Silence]

If you had to pick between two options…, one is that one path which might be a bit wobbly, which might be a bit stage, but you will come to an authentic recognition of Your Reality. The other path is the life full of pleasure, full of the best relationship, the best enjoyment…, but nothing is stable; at the end death is coming, it’s all going to die. Which path would you pick?

You don’t have to answer. Just shine the answer in your own light.

On one path you might feel like all our belief system is being wiped clean, and for while its seems confusing. ‘I don’t know who I am anymore.’ Some fear can come.

On the other path, if there was such a path where you could just have the best things in life; what is that you would pick now?

This is the Nachiketa question, isn’t it? Nachiketa was asked this question in his conversation with the god of death. The god of death himself said ‘You are just a kid. Why you are getting in to all this stuff? Why do you want to know how you are? I will give you nice palaces and nice relationships, nice food, nice everything.’ Nachiketa says ‘Will any of this survive you?’ The god of death said ‘No. All that is in time is subject to death.’ Then this small child [Nachiketa] said ‘No, I want to go beyond death and that which will not come and go. This is what I want.’

You see, this is what it means when I say: Truth for truth sake, irrespective of any by-product.

Those who were here yesterday will understand, your ‘examination’ has started. We found that the exam sheets which we got, already have all the answers; everything is done.

Now, what is your move? [Silence]

You want to add something or to cancel something?

You want to show how much you have learned?

You have got this wonderful surprise the minute you entered, and if you don’t see it yet, see it now; everything that had to be completed is complete.

Are you going to add some ‘and…, if…, but?’

[Chuckles] But to do that you have to specify: What is missing right now?

What will you speak, except about the appearance of something?

What’s on the other side of appearance?
What witnesses this appearance?

Who is aware of them?

Where is your doubt here?

Dance is happening here [Shaking hand gesture start] in the world. This dance is happening for many of you. I’ve been getting your messages. ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes; events, events, emotions, emotions, thoughts, thoughts, [Chuckles] pain, pain…, all this is happening.’

But does this dance contain You…, the entirety of You?

Are You in this ‘moving, moving, moving’? Because if you are in that, then you are also coming and going. Then you don’t need to worry anyway, because you will be gone soon. Because if you were just an appearance, why try to fix something? But if You are not contained in any appearance in the dance, You are That which witnesses all of it, that is aware of it, and yet remains completely untouched, no matter what the content of the dance may be.

Now, which is Your Truth?

What contains You?

What defines You?

Now, you might feel like you are an object contained within this body. (Okay, let me go really slowly.) Body is an object? Yes.

So, all that which an object can contain, is only an object? Can an object contain a non-object? [Chuckles] It can have the space to have other objects. So, it is that space? Or other objects. So, if you are something contained in this body, then you must be an object.

Now this object has never been found by anybody. You cut open the head you will not find the object called ‘me’…, you cut open any part of the body, you will not find this object.

As you See that, (and all of you know in your Heart actually that You are not an object) …, the mind might be fighting right now, trying to find a hundred reasons to convince you that ‘Actually you are an object, you might be the brain or something.’ [Chuckles] It will try to convince you of these kinds of answers. But your Heart is telling you: ‘Before this body, I was; after this body, I will be.’ Even this very popular notion that ‘I will rest in peace after this body is gone.’ Even such a popular notion; this means so much of humanity actually in their heart believes that they are not bound by this body.

And as you are starting to see that this body is nothing but a set of perceptions, a set of experiences, a set of sensations, then what is the mind trying to do? It is trying to figure out some oneness with rest of the world (meaning ‘Okay, I can’t be the body but I can’t yet see that I am one with the world or something.’) But that is the next container that mind is giving you; that you are an object contained in this world or you are the world object itself. But that is also nothing but a set of sensations, a set of perceptions.

So, you don’t have to find oneness this way, like ‘Oh, how am I one with this computer? How am I one with another body?’ You don’t have to. I know when I’m saying this, it sounds funny but many of you are trying to do this. [Laughs] I am saying it in Satsang and it sounds like ‘Who would do that?’ [Laughter]

So, if you have broken one objective boundary, or you see that you have never been contained in this objective boundary, now you are trying to broaden that objective boundary; but it’s only consisting of more perceptions.

But what is that which is beyond perception?

What is that which does not come and go?

All perceptions, they come and go; all appearances they come and go.

What is that which witnesses the coming and going?

Who is that which can say that ‘they’ come and go?

Is that itself an appearance?

Then you are starting to See that You are not even this world. Just like you Saw that You are not just this body, You are starting to See that You are not just this world, You are not just this universe. All of this is, still just the dance of perceptions.

And many bodies you are identifying with, many worlds which you call your own world. When you are in this realm you say ‘This is my life, my world’ and when you are in a dream you say that is your life, my world. When you are day-dreaming you feel like that is your life, your world. Consciousness is projecting various realms for you to inhabit. Find that one which is beyond all of these states.

What does not go to sleep in your sleep state?

What remains untouched when the waking state comes?

What remains untouched, no matter what the sensation might be?

The strongest sensation might be there, the strongest pain might be here:

Is the entirety of You in pain?

What can you say about That which witnesses this pain?

The biggest grief might be there: Is the entirety of You in grief?

You see? So, we are not to get into any sort of denial of the world. We can look at the appearance as an appearance. But if you are to use that definition of reality which says that ‘Reality is That which is unchanging’ does that deserve a bit of our attention? Or no? Our entire life is going on in the play of appearances, and there will be enough in this drama to go on with various things; something or the other. If you are happy to spend this entire existence just playing with this set of appearances, that’s fine, too. But I am speaking to those who are willing to look beyond.

What is beyond this play of coming and going?

And if it is beyond this play of coming and going, it must be Here Now. It can never go.

For the true Knowledge of this (Knowledge with a capital ‘K’) all that is needed is the dropping of the false. You don’t have to come to Reality, actually…, because that would be contradictory again. You can’t come to That which is not coming and going; it must already be Here. But just for a moment, can you be empty of this conceptual layer of dust, of your favorite ideas about yourself, of all that you have learned, including all the satsangs you have attended? Nothing; you have heard nothing, you have understood nothing…, not one step you have walked. You have always just been Here.

Who are you now?

And if your answer is just an inference, you better admit that you do not know. To hold onto a second-hand answer (even if you have heard it in satsang) will not get you there; is not integrity. No inference, no judgment, nothing learned, completely naked of any concept: Who are you Now?

‘I don’t know’ is not a bad answer.

Some of us have (biological) children. These children, they’ll ask a lot of questions. Now, it’s not that the questions are tiring, actually, because many parents complain that these questions are tiring. ‘My child, he asks too many questions.’ Yes. But the questions are not tiring. It is because they ask you a question which will make you feel stupid very fast. [Chuckles] Because, ultimately when you are talking to a child, within five or six questions they will come to things like ‘Why is the sky blue?’ And you don’t want to feel stupid that ‘I have lived on this planet for forty years and more’ and you still don’t know why the sky is blue. Then you say ‘Keep quiet; you’ll understand when it’s your time.’ [Chuckles]

Because this fear about [not-knowing] …, in India and some Middle Eastern countries also it is like this, nobody tells you, if you ask them for directions; nobody says they don’t know. Okay, everybody will say ‘Just go [Gestures like giving directions] a little bit forward there you’ll find it.’ [You say] ‘Where? There? On the left, or right?’ [They say] ‘No, no, you go there; then you’ll ask somebody. [You say] ‘So, do you know?’ [Gestures as if taken aback] ‘Yes! Of course, I know! What do you mean? Yes, of course I know.’ [Laughs]

So, this is what is happening after many Satsangs for many of you. It can feel like ‘But I’ve heard I’m Awareness, I’ve heard I’m Consciousness, I heard I’m the unborn. So, how can I admit to myself that I don’t know, actually?’ Because this ‘I don’t know’ sounds like bad news or something. But, actually this is the best news!

If you come to this neutrality, this emptiness of ‘I don’t know’ that means that you have dropped all concepts of who you are. And as you are empty of any concept of who you are, in a moment you might see that this truth has been so apparent. And that is why one of my themes over the last few weeks has been: Don’t try to solve it like an equation. Because many are trying to solve it as a mathematical inference or something. ‘Oh, I found this is this, therefore, this equals this, therefore, I must be that.’ You see? It cannot be a ‘must be’ like that. That is a very sort of mental form of calculating. Many of you are trying to see some emptiness or something like that. But this is still mental visualization. You are trying to find the space, because sometimes in Satsang we use terms like ‘space of Being’ or the ‘space of Awareness’ the mind latches onto that and tries to give you this [Gestures wide] big empty space. And you start to believe ‘Oh, that is Awareness.’ It is not that. What is aware of even that perceiving? Then you will See that It is neither an object nor space. [Silence]

Ashtavakra said ‘Neither the earth, water, fire, air; not even the space you are.’ Beyond any imagination; beyond any visual concept, beyond any mental concept.

What is your experience Right Now?

What is your direct insight Right Now?

And hear this when I am telling you that there is nothing missing. Nothing is missing. Because missing means coming and going. If something was missing that would mean the Truth is coming and going. It is just that you are interpreting it wrongly, we can say. Right now, all appearances are appearing.

Are you not aware of them?

Does this Awareness change?

Stay with your insight.

Don’t go to any judgement; no inference.

Does this awareness change?

All appearances are changing.

But, what about That which is aware of them?

You will find that it is unchanging.

And if the mind is giving you some doubt about this, try to change it: Don’t be aware.

For one fraction of a moment, don’t be aware.

Who can do it? Even if you say I went to sleep, even to have this experience called sleep, what you are actually saying is ‘I am aware of the experience of sleep.’ If you say ‘All my senses stopped; I meditated so deeply that all sensory perception went away, the world vanished, body vanished, emotions vanished, thoughts vanished’ …, yet I must be there to be aware of it.

The question comes: ‘What is your true position?’ [Chuckles] Neither something nor nothing You can be. No position, no reference point. No start, no end. No up, no down. No birth or death. That in which all things are possible; and yet nothing can hurt You, nothing can scratch You. That concept-less Reality is your Self…, where all notions come to play, but no notion is You.

There is no body; just a set of sensations. There is no mind; just a set of sensations. We have just used notions to define a collective of sensations. You see what I am saying? Like when you say ‘body’…, what does it contain? What does the term ‘body’ contain; from your experience? Only these sensations which you are experiencing now; whether they are visual sensations or they are perceived in a different way sensationally. What about mind? Another set of sensations. A set of sensations which are these energy constructs that we call thoughts and similar ones like imaginations, memory. But do they have any real existence? Is there something called ‘the mind’ really? It’s nothing. Is there something called body really? It’s nothing. It is just labels for perceptions, labels for appearances. What is beyond these appearances, beyond these labels?

That is why the Sages have said ‘Look for that which is not coming and going.’ Because we got so caught up in these labels, these notions of body and mind which create the false notion of ‘me’. Where is the me, who is the me? Even more abstract than the notion in the body and the mind is the notion of ‘me’…, some vague entity which seems to be the owner of this body and this mind. But only this body. [‘my’ body] It’s just an idea…, and not even a clear idea. It’s a terrible idea, in a way. [Chuckles]

So, whom does ‘I’ represent?

How long will this ‘I’ represent just this bad idea of ‘me’?

Is there anything which is real about you?

And if there is something which is real about you, allow ‘I’ to represent that.

Is there anything which is timeless about You?

Allow ‘I’ to represent that.

Is there anything which witnesses all things and yet itself is not a thing?

Allow ‘I’ to represent that.

That is the only worthy representation.

The changing feelings and sensations and pain and pleasure and desire and doing…, all of this is in the realm of changing. Get used to remaining notion-less. I know for a while it can feel wobbly. But many of you are getting used to it.

An example is coming. I rarely drive a car. Very, very rarely have I driven a car. But still, when I am sitting in front, in the front seat in the passenger’s seat, many times it happens that when there is something coming in front of us, my leg automatically wants to step on the brake. I don’t know if any of you have experienced this. So, we have been like this passenger in the front seat actually, pretending as if we are driving. ‘Which way should I go, left or right? What is the right way?’ Pretending to steer, pretending to brake, pretending to accelerate. Now, for a while, when we step back, when we remain notion-less, we step back (no acceleration, no brake applied) it can feel a bit shaky. When events are coming up in life, you can feel like ‘I must pick up my driving again.’ But allow yourself to wobble a bit; experience that shakiness a little bit. Then you start to enjoy the ride so much. ‘Wow, I am in Disneyland. I don’t have to do anything at all.’ [Chuckles]

Did you keep thinking ‘Okay, now I have learned this in Satsang today. So, how does it help me drive better? How can I steer? Can I lead my life in a better direction because now I know something?’ You see, then again, we are back on the driving.

Allow yourself to be empty. No where to go, no direction, no speeding up, no slowing down. Your gear is in neutral anyway since yesterday, isn’t it? We’ll remain in neutral.

This ‘I’ (because it can point to various things) for most of us has represented the body/mind. So much so that even when you are recognizing that You are not that, there can be an idea that ‘I as the body/mind am coming to this recognition. I personally am coming to some insight.’ This can be the notion. But it is not that. It is Consciousness Itself, which has played with delusion and now its playing with recognition.

So, many times it can happen that when we are experiencing suffering and we want to answer this question ‘But why am I suffering?’ then we try to use even the concepts of Satsang to get over our suffering; to answer the ‘Why am I suffering? If I have seen this, then why do I continue to suffer?’ But who does the I represent, even in this? Who is recognizing? Ask yourself this question.

Who is recognizing the truth of who You are?

Does it have anything to do with the identity?

Is the identity coming to the recognition of the Self?

Or is the recognition itself not that; there is no identity?

Therefore, the notion that ‘If I have seen the truth, then why am I suffering?’ itself is false. Because That which is Seeing the truth, That which is recognizing Itself, is not suffering.

So, in one statement we have mixed up two ‘I’s…, the Self-recognizing ‘I’ and the sufferer ‘I’ and we are trying to resolve this contradiction. Therefore, when I say ‘Who is in this for Truth sake alone?’ it is not some sort of a prediction, that suffering will continue to come or joy will not be there. It is to break away this concept that Advaita pointings should personally be beneficial. Because these can be the last vestiges of the personal ‘I’. Even the insight of freedom, the insight of Truth, the limited sense of ‘I’ (this mind) can try and use to resurrect itself; and herein lies the contradiction. Because in your truest Seeing that there is not personal ‘I’ there is also no suffering. And yet, that cannot become an expectation because then the expectation itself seems to then become ‘the finger that blocks the sun’. So, the simplest is not to hold onto any notion at all…, especially any notions about ‘Why?’