Checking into What is Here Now - 12th January 2016

All we're doing is just checking into what is here now. That's all we're doing, just checking into what is here now. Because why would we be interested in something which is not here? If something is not here, then by definition it would mean that it is coming and going, it is only an appearance. So if there is a task to do, it is only to check what is present here. Simple. So in this simple simplicity, the truth can be found. If there is waiting, if there is a sense that 'I will find out the now if I go to the next retreat,' how can that be? So we must have this; there can be the sense of allowing ourselves to just be here now. And what is experienced by us, undeniably experienced, is the presence of God, of Consciousness—whatever terminology we want to use. It cannot be denied. If you check what is here now, it cannot be denied that God is found undeniably so.

What is it that we want beyond God? If you're saying that this is not satisfactory for me, either there must be a sense that this cannot be God, or I want something more than God. When we check into what is here now, we find that there's a sense of existence, the sense of presence, that 'I exist.' And this is the only presence that you're truly experiencing: your own presence. Of course, it can seem like when you come into the energy field of Satsang, in the human embodiment of Masters, it can seem like something gets amplified, you see? But what is really happening is that all the other mental and emotional energies are settling, and you come face to face with your own presence more clearly, you see? So then you can say, 'Oh, I feel the Master's presence very strong,' but this Master is your inner Satguru. It's not that you're experiencing the physical body called Ananta, that presence. It's just that in the energy field of one who has realized the truth, you'll find that your own presence gets amplified.

When we say Satguru or Atma or Consciousness or being or I am or God, it's all being used interchangeably here. So I have no trouble with the definition; if you want to call it something else, that's also fine. But what's unmistakable is that I exist. In fact, it is so natural that you miss it. It is so natural that you miss it. So instead of asking 'How do I find God?', you tell me how you are not finding God right now. Which God is missing from the right now? So you can check like this: In the right now, can I deny the presence of my own being? Can I say I am not here? Mind is here, yes. 'Yes, I am here, but I'm looking for God.' This 'I am' itself is the only God you will find. This sense of presence of being is the only God that is. This is Consciousness. This is the only Consciousness I know and you will know. All other glorious stories which the mind is painting are just distractions.

So who can say 'I am not' right now? I don't exist? I sense something... something is saying I exist, but it doesn't fully make sense yet.

Yeah, this can be a trick of the mind. That's why I ask: Can you stop being? And the simplicity of the question sometimes camouflages what is revealed in this question. So if you were to ask, 'Can I stop being now?' No. How can I stop being? This being is what? Whose being is it? Whose presence is it? Is it a personal presence? Does it have personal preferences? If inherently it had some personal preferences, then you would not need a thought to have desires and aversions. You would not need thoughts to have likes and dislikes. But can you have a like and dislike without first believing a thought or interpreting an emotion?