Antibiotics for the "Me-Infection" - 31st December 2018

Satsang is like antibiotics for the infection of 'me'. And for those of you who don't like antibiotics, it's hard with the algorithm. Naturally, there is only one thing that seems to afflict us, no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what's happening in the world, what's happening to our emotions, what's happening to the body. It is only this affliction, which is the affliction of the 'me'. And this infection of 'me' is only transmitted through thought. Whatever we might think, there is no other way to turn with this limited self except through thought.

It was funny the other day—I don't know if she's finding it funny now, but you won't mind me saying—a student came and she said that she was a bit upset. So I was asking her what happened. She said, 'I must be by now at this point where I stopped believing my thoughts. This is bothering me.' And it was just a thought. So this is as clear an example as possible that even the idea of finally being free from thoughts is only just a thought. And if we hold on to that idea, that itself can cause suffering because it attacks the seeker identity who feels frustrated that 'I am still not free' or 'not boundary-less' that way.

This here, this nice, seemingly fun game arose in Satsang. We said just expose whatever thought seems to get your belief and we'll just say, 'Well, this is just a thought.' That's all this game is about. And whether it is thoughts about the state of the world, the state of our life, the state of our mind, the state of our body, the state of our enlightenment—it's all rubbish. I repeat, because to look at it as if it represents something real, to claim that a set of words, a set of noises, can represent reality as big or as holy as those words may sound, is rubbish. It is not.

And all of this trouble is because we seem to not get over the idea that you are not free, that you are not complete, that there is a step to take, that you have to get somewhere. Or its opposite, which is the same, you see? This is important because to cling to its opposite—that 'I have it,' 'I am it,' 'I got it'—is also just ideas. To two different bands of seekers, whether you smoke a hand-rolled cigarette or you're smoking this long little pipe, it doesn't really matter; neither is helpful to your lungs. So if at best you're using certain concepts to come out of this addiction and then you will give up on even these, then that is fine. But pick one; don't go shopping around for too much. Whichever gives you the most peace, whichever brings you the most stillness, stay with that. Not something that activates your mental faculties more.

Also, another tip is that we must not get into any sort of spiritual fantasies because they are not in service to us. Sometimes a little bit is okay, but usually if this becomes a habit, then we go on a separate, different sort of trip. What is plain and simple is greater than any fantasy that you could have. So neither spiritual despondency nor spiritual fantasy—nothing. All of it is in avoidance to meeting what is, as is. And this is the number one cause of frustration in Satsang. What is the number one cause of frustration? Because I keep saying 'what is now' and you keep thinking that it is nothing, or thinking that it must mean something. We try to make it a part of your story, but it cannot be. What you find is not going to be a chapter in your story. It is not going to be an experience, it is not going to be a thought, it is not going to be a sensation.