Contemplation on the Ashtavakra Gita Ch. 18, Vs. 96 -100 & Chapter 19 - 15th September 2017

This is an important part because many times we can hear this instruction and we can feel like, 'I'm not the doer, so now I will do nothing.' But even that is a sense of doership. That's a bit circling. So let me repeat: you can have this idea that 'because I am not the doer, now I will do nothing.' But even that is a doing, an idea of doership of doing nothing. As long as you believe yourself to be the limited entity made up of the body-mind, then even the position that you might take of the doer or non-doer holds the same limitation. It is only in your recognition as your true Self, you see that it is what it is. Not applicable to doership. We are not the doer because it is not applicable. So the multiple-choice terms: which one are you? Option A or Option B? Doer or non-doer? Option C: not applicable. It is not applicable because you are not that which would have been either the doer or the non-doer. This, if you keep in your heart, if you want to play a little bit about this, it will clear so much subtle misunderstanding that can come in Advaita. Because there are many who can take the non-doership position also as a limited entity. They can take the non-desire or pure mind position also as a limited entity.

Why are you beyond desire? Because desire and desirelessness both are not applicable. So when you hear that you have no desire, then the mind will come and say, 'With all these things, I must be free of my desire.' See what you are, and you are beyond any phenomenal attributes. So what could you want which is phenomenal? Only in the idea of your limitation can you truly want something. Therefore, desire, doership, and duality is in this ego, this limited identity, and also in their opposites. So it is not that you have to take their opposite position; it is to be empty of all positions. Now you might say, 'So how do I become empty of all positions?' The instruction like gurus, you might say, the instruction sounds a bit like when I say 'be natural.' You're then doing the 'being natural' or trying to be. That's also doing. How to be empty of all positions? See what you are. What are you in this very moment? You will find that you are the witness of all phenomenal movement. That itself is beyond anything that you have conceived yourself to be in the past. And then when the thought comes and tells you, 'Oh, this is your position' or 'This is what my offer of a new position for you is,' you know it's the same wrong idea, selling to the limited idea of yourself.

That is why we keep emphasizing this self-recognition, which is ever available. It is not difficult. But you cannot hold on to a limited position about yourself and hold on to the Self. Cannot keep one foot on the ground and board the aeroplane. This position must be discarded. Must be how? Nothing you have to do even in that because right now it is empty. Fill it up again. What can be? And I try to emphasize this almost every satsang because I'm still in all of this. I remember this one that played out. I was a seeker for a long time. So if he was told, 'And on this condition that you are trying to get rid of all the ego, that you are trying to destroy it, it automatically just vanishes in the actual moment,' I feel very happy to hear that. But somehow I don't seem to get that response when I share it. If I do this, that all this heavy lifting, all this project of getting rid of tendencies, conditioning, to kill the ego, dissolving—nothing which is happening. But it is what it is. Just a thought, just a mind. What to do with the thought? Just let it come and go. If you have not been able to let it come and go, you picked it up. So what? Nothing. In this moment, it is all clean again. And the same cycle repeats. But that's this game, it's all like this.

Why is the self-recognition important then, if in every moment the cleanup job has all happened? Why is the self-recognition important? Because when the 'but' comes, it is always looking to you as if you are the limited one. Then when you have seen yourself to be beyond the concept of limitation, then the thought is not so believable. You don't hold onto the thought. Which one to hold onto or not? See, that's why this self-recognition creates this space in which belief in the mind is let go of. And as belief in the mind is let go of, it creates more space for self-recognition. That is your true satsang. Certainly this, whatever might be the environment you are in, whatever might be the place you're in, if it is about this coming to the recognition of the Self and letting go of the false. Could be that you are in the middle of a fish market, but it is still in the physical environment of satsang. Many times it could be that we are picking up more and more concepts about ourselves, so then it is no longer it.

Okay, I think the physical environment of satsang, of course, is so much energetic presence which is available, so much Satguru's grace which is available, allowing the mind to just come and go. But it can be there, those who are playing the game of feeding their spiritual ego in the find of satsang. And when I meant very nourishing for the ego, some satsang words are looked at as if they are concepts to know, to learn, not being used as a thorn to remove all that we know. Bhagavan said self-inquiry or the question 'Who am I?' is the thorn here using to remove the other thorns. Suppose we are using it and embedding that as a thorn itself, and we pick up the next one. 'Are you aware now?' Put that in. 'Can you stop being?' Put that in. If all this becomes a battery for our spiritual ego, a collection of the most beautiful spiritual concepts but empty of true insight, and all these edges, badges of honor, off they go. Playing in a spiritual way with any one of these pointers and used to check the reality of what you are. Check on the reality of what you are. You will find that everything there is empty of all positions, all conditionings, all doing, all desire, empty of duality. With the terms of truth, is God saying hello? Isn't it? These things happen where God is in. We spoke about this.

With the terms of truth, I have plucked the thorn of thinking from the innermost cave of my heart. With the terms of truth, I have plucked the thorn of thinking from the innermost cave of my heart. This is exactly what we just discussed. Where is meditation, pleasure, prosperity, or discrimination? Where is duality? Where even is unity? I abide in the glory of Self. So all of these are now fallen into the non-applicable. So do you meditate or not? Not applicable. In the appearance, meditation could appear. As where I say, 'No, before enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water; after enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water.' Or not that, or not that is very important. Where is meditation, pleasure, prosperity, or discrimination? What is this discrimination? This discrimination was not how it is usually used in the world.

Where even is unity? I abide in the glory of Self. So all of these have now fallen into the non-existent. Do you meditate or not? Not applicable in the appearance. Meditation to the seeker is where I say, 'No, before enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water; after enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water.' Or not. That 'or not' is very important. Where is meditation, pleasure, prosperity, or discrimination? What is this discrimination? This discrimination was not how it is usually used in the world. This discrimination knows how to check between that which itches here and there; how to check between that which is real and unreal; to find that which is unchanging is real, and that which changes is an appearance. But now, although that was useful to say 'not this, not this, not this' because that is still there amidst change, now coming to this recognition, do we need to not lose anything? Everything is accepted as is, and yet you know that your reality is much more. But beyond that, the 'not this' is awaiting to fool, to bring some focus to what you really are. But this sage is not spending the rest of his life saying 'not this.' It served its purpose, and the purpose of work. I have plucked the thorn of thinking from the innermost cave of my heart. That is the purpose of all this spiritual pointing. It has this one purpose.

Where even is unity? I abide in the glory of Self. 'Where even is unity' is a very important point because although we might say 'I am that one awareness,' actually it is more accurate to say 'I am that non-dual awareness.' It's like Advaita, non-dual. Because when you come to the discovery of the Self, it is not one. Because if there was one, then there would be the concept of oneness. Oneness is a tool. If there can be something which is one, it is possible for there to be two. So it's not an objective discovery at all. There is not an object which is just that one. It is empty of all objective quality. Now, oneness also—oneness is a beautiful way to point to that which the discovery is. But it is not of one.

Where is past and future, or even present? Where is space, or even eternity? I abide in the glory of Self. Time and space—many times we are open to this, the way that space is just a projection of consciousness. Because we feel that it is consciousness also. Consciousness dreams, consciousness has imagination, memory. Some things that never happened, you might have—there might be ten of you and you might have a very clear image or memory of something that happened the other night, and someone might say, 'This never happened.' So this whole production ability of consciousness—dreams, imagination—you are able to accept that about space, but many times we are unable to accept it about time. But then you will find that time and space are actually one. It's one space of experience in the space of your existence, your being. That which witnesses this, perceives this, changes. So for that which is changeless, there is no time. Time is the version of change. That which is changeless is beyond time.

Where is past and future, or even present? Where is space, or even eternity? I abide in the glory of Self. And then, where is Self? Where is not-Self? Where is good and evil, confusion and clarity? I abide in the glory of Self. Where is Self and even not-Self? This is like the Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2, after so many chapters about Brahman—not even Brahman. Why? Because the sages know that even these most pristine pointings can become positions. How many have we seen in this Advaita path which are just, 'I am aware'? 'What would you like for lunch?' 'I am aware.' It's like Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. You have to say anything to them: 'I am awareness.' So even awareness or even Self can become like a position. Even this, don't hang on to it conceptually. So although he starts the verse with 'Where is Self? There is not-Self. Where is good, confusion, and clarity?' I abide in the glory of Self. It does not have to be held on to conceptually. Be empty of concepts.

Where is sleeping? Where is dreaming, waking, or even the fourth state? Where is fear? I abide in the glory of Self. Beautiful. Sleeping, dreaming, waking—all of them come and go. Even Turiya comes and goes. If this itself comes and goes—you know this is going to go tonight—this is why ultimately, even if you feel like sleep is only a temporary state and you feel like there's a depth which is the prominence to it, ultimately it is coming and going. So this is going to go. What did the sage say right from the very beginning? Focus on that which is unchanging. So are we still trying to sort out something for the changeful? Because that's the only way the mind can function. Oh, is that which is beyond these streams? Are you in your sleep state and observe that there is nothing there? The witness of that nothing. One more thing: this is nothing. And one more thing witnesses all things.

Where is close or far, in or out, gross or subtle? I abide in the glory of Self. So all these concepts of time and space, objects within time and space—now to see that you are beyond this entire appearance. Chapter 19: Where is life and death? Where is the world and worldly relations? Where is distraction and stillness? I abide in the glory of Self. We just talked about this. All these states—waking, dream, sleep, Turiya, life, death—what of all who witnesses them? Is that touched by one? The point is now that the mind will run out of tricks. Now every single concept of yourself which the mind uses to convince you of your limitations is being swept away. You are neither this nor that. You are neither in time nor out of space. You are neither free nor liberated, neither the doer nor the non-doer, neither the enjoyer nor the non-enjoyer. You are the Self.

And this abiding is your natural state because you are the Self. Abiding is your natural state. You don't have to try and abide. And we are doing this also: 'I am trying to abide in the Self.' Oh, how? It's your natural state. You don't have to try to be natural, but you have to try and be unnatural. You have to make an effort to pose as if you are the person. You make an effort to pose as if you are an entity, an identity. How do you make this effort? By giving belief to that which is meaningless. This power of belief belongs to you as consciousness. Consciousness chooses to play as if it is limited when it believes the idea that 'I am something.'

There is no need to talk about the three ends of life. To talk of yoga is purposeless. Even talking about truth is irrelevant. I rest in the Self alone. This is the ultimate 'shut up.' Obviously, be quiet. There's no need to talk about the three ends of life. The talk of yoga is purposeless. Even talking about truth is irrelevant. I rest now. The only thing I will say, at the risk of upsetting the master, would be: mistake the total silence of this mouth as the silence that can be a helpful segment. But the true silence is this absence of echoing belief. Nothing has to be said when we make a concept to establish a false position for yourself. The truth does not need the concept. So, empty of concepts, with no need to speak, no need for any evaluation and judgments. Even talking about truth is irrelevant. I rest in the Self alone. Okay, finished Chapter 19. There is only one chapter left, which we will take next week because that's enough for today. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.