I Am That - That You Are - 23th November 2017

Once I went to a flute player when I was living in Rishikesh. He used to come to me, so we used to go on the weekends. He said, 'This is a flute song right now, the song for the mind.' But it is a song for the mind. Just, I don't know how many of you remember that song, 'Hit the Road Jack.' We always enjoy the song so much. So these old guys are coming and saying, 'Don't leave me.' You don't even have to say it. It's half in jest, of course. We don't even have to say 'get the road.' We don't have to resist the mind. When I was younger, when I came to Delhi, I lived in the little hills. What happened is that I was the head of the AHST. Then we would have this salesman coming and he would come with his bag of VHS tapes and he would then pay attention to the children. Now, if this VHS tape seller came to you, would you buy? Maybe because of some antique value, but you moved on. Now when the salesman of the mind comes and has to sell you the same old story about the individual 'you,' let it move along.

The only time this so-called spiritual journey is uncomfortable is when you are listening to Satsang, to your own intuitive presence, and you are listening to this mental voice. Because together, it can cause a lot of confusion. So this having the mind as a master—having the mind as a master—this one has to make way for the other. The blessing to all of you, of course, is there. The true Master, the inner presence, sits on the throne of your heart. Mind can be there, but as a stand-up comedian. It is not a master. Mind is not your master. And as you can start to carry this feeling in your heart to just remain with the Master, you'll see that that which seemed like such a big tormentor, such a powerful force, this mind starts to lose so much of its power. You start to see that no matter what the mind is saying, it has no real authority over you. All sensations, all perceptions go their own way, just like the space in this room doesn't mind what comes in and what goes out. That which is the space in which this case arises—mind. We have to say it to the ones who designed language. Oh, so genius, the word 'mind.' How could they? 'Mind' is just so precise. It is 'mine' to 'mind.' See what I'm saying? To 'mind' something. You can only bind this; you can't mind it without the direct... it's such a direct form. So 'don't mind it' is more direct. Ashtavakra says it in a different way. He said, 'The mind is complex, let it go.' He didn't say sometimes; he said just let the mind be complex, let it go.

Here is the world example, so great. Kabir Ji said, 'The fish is thirsting for water, I can't help but laugh.' This clarifies a lot of things. The fish recognizes that it is just swimming in the water. It is just water everywhere, actually. It recognizes that there is no fish, which is just water. But suppose for a minute it recognizes that 'I have been thirsting for water, but there is water everywhere.' So when I say that life doesn't have to change, you don't have to get some new type of water, some new type of perception, sensations, relationships, money. Does it have to come? It doesn't take away from the beauty of the recognition. So that life will continue to be this way is not bad news. Life is already very beautiful. We have been misunderstanding. We have attached ourselves to that which is in movement. What do you think the result of that will be? If you tie yourself to a bus which is moving, do you feel like this galloping horse will be my steady support in life? When you tie yourself to the foot of a horse, you know? We attach ourselves to that which is constantly moving and then we say, 'Why can't I find some steadiness in our lives?'

Attach yourself to that which is the unmoving, the unchanging. Then you will see that you are That itself. But if you feel like you have to attach yourself to something, attach to that which doesn't change. If you're just attached to this Self, tell me how you can suffer? What more would you want in life? Then all things just come and go without having to be attached nor averse. Nowhere am I saying that you must pick up an aversion to anything. Just see it for what it is: another appearance coming into time. Allow it to function in this natural way. You don't lose anything if you give up all your notions. You do lose something: you lose suffering, pride, fear about time. And the trouble is that you don't even go hundred percent with that. We have fear about the future. What is ultimately going to happen to that which we consider ourselves to be? In the hospital or some sort of deathbed, it is going to be most likely the final experience. Then what is the point of all of this agonizing?

The whole part—this body is going to go. So phenomenally, if we were to consider ourselves an object, we don't take these concepts fully. They look at this past: 'Why did this happen?' Okay, go further back. 'Why did this...?' Go further back. Right before your childhood, go back to before you were born, before you were conceived. You want to open eyes about the past? Go really, really back. What do I know about the future? Go really forward. See that is consciousness. Then you will see that the only stability is your own Self. Have you seen in America, there is something called a rodeo? So pretending that we are attached to this crazy horse or crazy bull. Sometimes they ride to poodles. And this is going to settle down? No, it's going to be a bumpy ride. But we consider ourselves to be an object because we consider the world to be a reality. What happens to us? Sometimes a few moments of essential stability, then back again. So asking 'Why does this happen to me?' is like saying 'What is this?' There's no meaning to ask this first. The true question is: Who is it? Did you see that the horse and the rider are just appearances, but you remain the untouched? And the good news is that this is true right now.

You don't need any process of steps. If there was a process of steps like this, don't you feel that in the thousands and thousands of years that humanity has been in existence, it would have been codified and available? Now, it is not that all the ways are the only way. All the ways ultimately point you to the simple truth. Let me tell you a little about the Indian tradition. In India, what used to happen is that if you wanted the truth, you would go to a Master. Masters would typically have his ashram. So it's not like today where you just come to the ashram. Master will say, 'Okay, you've come here, but first you have to do some seva.' Not like this is the tranquility you need. You need to do seva work for ten years, then I will talk to you about this. Till then, I will just ask you to go clean the ashram properly, whether you manage the shops or this gardening.

Then next ten years—so ten years you spend as the consumer—then next ten years study all the Shastras. Study the Upanishads, study the Bhagavad Gita, study the Brahma Sutras. Without all that which we call Vidya, you don't realize that we don't actually exist. So study all of these for ten years. And by the way, in those first ten years, you better have got rid of your lust, your greed, fear, desires, your aversion, all of your impulses. You better have complete control over your senses, your mind. These are the qualifications which allow you to even dip into those Upanishads. The Shastra will be done. And if you haven't learned in the first ten years, then you take longer. They say it's worthwhile in entire lifetimes. Fine. Then you study all the Shastras for another ten years. Twenty years have passed and you feel like you have some understanding of what is being said, all these beautiful structures based on how much has been assimilated. Really, the Master will call you in today for the ultimate truth. If you really learned, if you really assimilated something in the last twenty years, your dedication to this power, you will understand what he shares.

Then he would share something: 'Tat Tvam Asi.' I am Brahman. I am the Absolute Self. Now the disciple, he has two reactions. Usually, you become open. In the last twenty years, 'Oh, that's it? For twenty years and all you have to tell me is this one line with three words?' So which one are you? For whatever reason, you are here now. I haven't left you to seva, actually. You've done it already. And your Master is telling you that you are the Self, which is helpful. Are you? Are you still hearing these words conceptually? I am That. That you are. Atma Gyan. You are That. Thank you all so much for being in the Satsang. Pranam, Mooji Baba.