Maya Is Such a Strong Con-Artist

But the good thing is that it was very possible for this life to have gone in a way where I would not have realized the immensity of this project at all. That is why Maya is such a strong con-artist, because it can make it about an awakening; it can make it about an event rather than a life of complete surrender and servitude. And that possibly was the difference between Ravana and Shabri, besides other physical differences. Where Ravana had great spirituality—maybe greater than Shabri—had great tapasya, great experiences, very strong siddhis, everything given to him by the grace of God, unparalleled maybe. Great Pandit, he's even written great scriptures, Shiva Tandava Stotram, so many beautiful things. But then the trump card of the mind made it about him and no longer about God.

Is it so? As my friends, as my children, I would say to all of you: don't ever presume that you are beyond it now, that it is about an event that happened with you, an experience that unfolded for you all by His grace anyway. We notice that true spiritual growth happens when we are not doing it, when God is doing it, isn't it? So, when God is doing it, for the 'me' to come up and take credit for that, or to say that I am special because of something that God did—don't ever fall into that kind of foolishness.

And I speak to you as one who came very close to that; came very close to the trajectory of such a life of taking themselves to be special. And maybe it's still playing out. So just you know that sometimes the deviation is 0.001 degrees, but over time that becomes a huge gap. It may start off as a tiny thing. So that pleading with you to not define yourselves comes from that perspective—that in your tiniest frame of maybe you just said it because you wanted to introduce yourself to someone, and then that became your identity, your new spiritual identity.

Rely on God for everything, especially what to say in this moment. Sometimes that itself is the trap, you see? So, it's very easy to fall into those patterns, especially like in the sharing of Satsang which has happened here every alternate day for 12 years. It's very easy to fall back into the groove of conditioned response, you see? The freshness of allowing God to move these lips can easily be hidden under those correct answers, or correct-sounding answers.

So, the courage to be empty in this moment and to be all right with looking like a fool—it doesn't have to be just in the sharing of Satsang, but in any interaction—that will really help you in this. Let your mouth surprise you. If it's not surprising you, then you've fallen into some conditioning, is it? Let what you speak, what you say, surprise you, huh?