Remain with God, Remain with His Light, and Allow the Movie to Play By Itself - 29th May 2024

So our intention, our commitment has to be to stay with the Father, come what may in the TV show. See, our intention has to be that fully, no matter how risky it seems. And then we will still, of course, because it is so compelling, the show, we will still get involved. But if we only commit halfway, then we are reducing the odds of really truly returning to our Father's lap, to God's lap. And what is the key? The key is that in your heart you know whether this is about the 'me' or whether it is about God. This meaning this in this moment—it could be what you're doing, it could be what you're thinking, it could be what you're feeling, it could be what you're intending to do, it could be what you're judging, it could be, most importantly, where your focus is. Is your focus on 'me' or is it on God? And all of us have that insight in our heart. At a more gross level, it may seem like our conscience, actually at a grosser level, because our conscience keeps us from going completely haywire in the world. But as we go subtler and subtler, we realize that our conscience is just a more gross version of the subtle guidance of the Atma within. And to surrender to the light of the Atma within is our spirituality, is our spiritual work.

So that's one thing. The second thing, very important, is that the more you involve yourself in whichever aspect, whether TV show or with God, the more that deepens in your life, you see. So in a way, this is like the company we keep, the sang. The satsang is to leave the sang, the company of the false, to come to the company of the truth. So to come to the company of the truth, it is important to leave the company of the false, because it's pretty binary that you cannot hold the false with one hand and the truth with the other hand. To come to the company of the truth, it is important to leave the company of the false. It is possible in satsang for me to forget this and to make it about you and what you are understanding from me, and that instant I forget as the teacher, then I am no longer sharing satsang. As long as it becomes about me and how 'me' is affecting you, then it's no longer just satsang. It's no longer satsang.

So as a teacher of God, our job—and I'm speaking to all of you as teachers of God because all of us are sharing one way or the other—as a teacher of God, you must emphasize the God part much, much, much, much more than the teacher part. So 99.999999% God; the teacher is just the frame of the photograph or the picture. And how can someone who is a teacher of God do that? That is only to not forget that God is here, his presence is here, and be present with that presence. What do I mean that all of us are teachers of God? Because I get reports that 'I took the Ramacharitmanas home and my mother is reading it.' Beautiful, so beautiful, see? Because in one way or the other, in what we immerse ourselves, that tends to spread in our life, that tends to exude itself in our life. So remain with God's presence, remain with his light, and allow the movie to play by itself. So with that context is what I'm saying.

So we can sit here and talk about God as if I am a somebody and you're a somebody, or collectively we can be present with God and build a deeper heart connection, a deeper relationship. What does it mean to build a deeper relationship with God? First, to clean up the house. To clean up the house, you see, so that we can even get to his room. Otherwise, we are so involved in the outer rooms. And of course, I'm fully borrowing from St. Teresa of Avila and I'm using this metaphor that we are so involved in the outer layers of the Interior Castle that the innermost mansion in our heart seems inaccessible for most of our brothers and sisters. So how to clean up? Follow whatever, to start with, your external teacher tells you, and then as you deepen, to follow what your inner Satguru is guiding you to—whether that is to pray, whether it is to inquire, whether it is to sing his bhajan, whether it is just to remain empty in his presence. You will be guided every moment of your life if you're open to it. If you're open to being with God, you will not—it's okay—you will not be left without a way to be with him. But if you make it about 'me,' then God will let you play.

So moment to moment, taste his presence if you can, and if you can't, then pray for it or inquire into it. Come to his light, and then the light itself will show you how to deepen in the light. And when they chose us—most of us, why this metaphor is coming—but most of us, at least in India, it's like this: that we love going to a Nani's house. Nana-Nani's house was the one where they were the more spoiling ones usually. It may be the other way also, but rarely I've heard, no? So the mom's side of the family seems to be more pampering and more loving, generally speaking—I'm not creating trouble. So when we go to God and he teaches us, it is the most love that you can experience in this life, and it's unconditional, unconditional. The most feeling of being settled, content, at home that you will feel in your life. Because as we are involved with the world, it's a constant coping, isn't it? It's like a constant coping, just keep coping with whatever life is throwing at us, just keep coping, keep saying it's good, it's good, if we make it work it'll happen, you see, like that. It's a constant treadmill. But we get Shanti, we get peace from that treadmill of life, from this constant coping.

So are you all starting to see the contrasting states of our life? Or is it sounding still conceptual and like a nice idea? But are you starting to—when I'm saying this, is it sounding like your story? It should sound like what happens with us, all of us. So when we are with his presence, how life seems, how we seem to be; when we seem to be so caught up in this play, how life seems. Are you starting to see that taste difference? Because as you start to—what is this taste? It's intuitive, you see. It's not just the feeling. The feelings are there, of course; you feel rested and you feel loved. But more than feeling, something intuitively shows you that you've come home. See, it feels something that is inexplainable, inexplicable. Because once you start to taste it like that, then you can use that to sense for yourself, see, because sometimes the mind comes up with...

It is caught up in this play how life seems. I am starting to see that taste difference because as you start to—what is this taste? It's intuitive, you see. It's not just the feeling. The feelings are there, of course; you feel rested and you feel loved, but more than feeling, something intuitively shows you that you've come home. You see, it feels something that is inexplainable, inexplicable. Because once you start to taste it like that, then you can use that to sense for yourself. You see, because sometimes the mind comes up with many great-sounding spiritual ideas, but they're very tricky tricks. So these tricky tricks can sound spiritual, but they can take us away from His light. So to have that sense that tells you that in our head it seemed like a great idea, but actually your heart seems distant from God as you embark on a particular adventure. So in that way, we can run our life and this. Yes, now speak up. No, no, for them this way now.

Father, when you said that there's an intuitive sense that you're home, I'm just checking about that. There's a—like you said, there's a feeling of restedness and, um, even if there is, um, there's certain things that are happening but you're not drawn to them or you're not getting distracted. But that's not what you mean? No, there's a more intuitive...

Yes, because that's why I said that words are difficult to put in place. That your attention may be even on things that are happening; so much is happening around you, you see. But when I'm using the word focus, I'm not using it directly as attention. That our focus remains on God even though, like we are having this conversation, my attempt is to stay with Him because that is what will make it a satsang, you see. If it just becomes about what Ananta told Joa, then it may seem like in the world like it's being—satsang is being shared—but it's no longer satsang. So it has to be—how do I talk about this focus? How do I express this focus thing? It's like He is at the center, see, of our intention, of our feeling, of our remaining with Him. It's about Him. It's about Him. And if it's about Him and the intention is for us to collectively be with Him, whatever the outside play may be in our lives, then we are in a satsang that is truly working on the spiritual project.

So yes, so even our body may be very tired, see. Our body may have some pain sensation, but and yet we still feel at home. We still feel rested in His presence. So it's very difficult to put in words. You have to, you know, just keep tasting it more and more because even His pure byproducts are difficult to put in words. So His presence itself, which is the source of these byproducts, I can't really find the words to explain, but you just have to trust Him to provide something that can point to that. It's a very radical change.

Yes, even when there's a very challenging situation and then you realize that there's no other choice but God, and then somehow by His grace He's here. The difference between the previous and the current is just—it's too great. It's very radical, the change. Yeah, okay.

It is fully different, fully different. To take yourself to be an object in this world and to take yourself to be that which is God at His feet and made up of Him is fully different. I mean, we can't expect it to be the same. One is to take ourselves to be a bundle of flesh and the other is to take ourselves to be part of the light which is God Himself. And there's no distinction between the part and the whole, but we must not rush to say these kind of things. But I feel we know by now that at each step we consent, you see, and our ability to spot is becoming subtler and subtler. Because actually what you may be calling running out of moves, another brother or sister in the world may not feel like it is that. You may feel like, 'Yeah, we can still deal with this, we can win, we can make this happen,' you see, like that, with our own strength, with our own what we take ourselves to be. But this is also a sign of our sensitivity, that we run out of moves fast or faster. So but that becomes more and more and more.

So like, um, like the cheese and Tom and Jerry—some of you grew up watching that—the cheese would have this tempting hand which will come like that. So the trick is to just—no. Whenever you recognize you're being pulled in one thing, we must work on is that the mind has an ability to rationalize everything. It will tell you, 'This is for God only, this is about God only.' So because you rationalize it for yourself, you basically made yourself come out of a feeling of the—like a guilty conscience or something like that—and you feel like, 'Yeah, this is for God,' because you made sense of it for yourself. But don't make sense of it for yourself. Just check within: what is this really about? Who am I really serving? How am I serving God now?

So it is said that Krishna came to a very poor man's house one time because this poor man was a bhakta, a great lover of Krishna. And when he came there, Krishna knew that this man has no food, but He said that, 'I'm very hungry.' Most of us grew up watching this on Doordarshan. So He said, 'I'm very hungry,' and this man had nothing left in his house. There was one grain of rice. So he brings that one grain of rice and offers it to God tearfully and says, 'I'm so sorry I can't offer you anything more, this is all I have.' And then Krishna is so pleased, He's so happy, He says, 'This is the greatest food I've ever eaten, the greatest gift anyone has ever given me.'

So just like that, whatever we have, as unworthy as we may be feeling about ourselves, but to just offer ourselves to God, offer our heart to God, offer our life to God, that 'I belong to You, Father, this is all I have, as meager as it may be.' With this kind of shield surrounding us, then we can't be so easily pulled in, see. If we live in that—when we were in school or college, we had these crushes, infatuations, you see, these things would happen. So what would happen then? Those few days, then all we're thinking about is that one, you see. We're not thinking what we had in our lunch box, nothing. We're just like, 'Can I offer this? Can I give this?' You know, we are just in that mode. So being infatuated, but much more than infatuated with God, then this pull of Maya, the tempters, will not have any power over you. For those days you didn't look at any other body or girl, isn't it? In the same way, when we fall so deeply in love with God, you're not going to look around. It's not going to matter so much what is happening to this 'me'.

And it is never, for those who are even a little sensitive, never that we go fully down the wrong route of selfishness without so many nudges from within stopping us, and without. If we were not rationalizing to ourselves in our head—and everything I'm saying is from what I do, so don't take it as if I'm preaching to you, I'm just sharing my experiences of what I do. So the mind has the ability to convince you that everything is about God, but you have to check with the right teacher, the one who is sitting in your heart. Because if you go with these mental rationalizations, you will end up at a point where you then run out of moves and then you have to return after suffering.

But if you stay with His light, like I keep saying, you can't be in heaven and hell at the same time. And heaven is not a place; it is who you're with. That those who remember God when they are happy, then why does suffering have to come? Why does sorrow have to come? It cannot come. So use every opportunity. Don't wait for trouble to turn. When things are good also, you can turn and be grateful. And you don't have to apply to—like, I'm not telling you that from now just think about everything that you do, you see, like that. I'm just saying apply it moment to moment. Just moment to moment. Right now, what is this about? Right now, who is this about?

So I told you all that I'm working on this pretense thing, like this key sort of pretense comes as I'm sharing, like as if I am a teacher and, you know, there is something here that deserves to be heard or something like that. And in that moment, I forget about God. In that moment, it could be subtle, subtle things like that. You said something, I got a bit irritated; these have already gone out of God's light. I'm already in myself and in my pride and these things. So like this, we have to notice every moment of our life. He's here. Am I with Him, or the TV show? With Him, or TV? With Him. You can watch TV, that outer TV, but don't get involved in this Maya.

So the point I'm making is that don't let the mind lead you to that corner. You chop it off before the corner. How to chop it off? When you notice the slightest selfishness, the slightest pride, slightest wanting to be seen, wanting to be somebody. It's not in service to you. Whatever is not in service to God is not in service to you, although it seems like it is. So if you're clamoring for attention, if you're clamoring for worldly praise, clamoring for your name to be known or even people to respect you, to make it about you—that is what pulls you in, and then we have to suffer to come back. If you make sure that in your heart you know that this is in service to God, this is in love for God, and you are able to spot all these—I'm just pointing out these subtle, subtle things which get in the way of remaining in God's light.

Yes, you said about the TV and that it's so compelling, but I feel sometimes that it's not even compelling. It is, in fact, a deep sense of fatigue now in me. And in the word you use, like it's more about like it leads to just the need to constantly be coping. And even what was just said here about coping with anxiety or coping with our emotions that get the better of us, and yet—so it's not like it's even so fantastic, it's causing suffering. Yeah, and in spite of that, we are finding it hard to stay with that which we know.

Yeah, you're right. There's actually no fun in this Maya. It promises a lot of fun, but there's actually no fun. It's just like we're in this constant endeavor to make a palatable hell, or a comfortable hell. I feel like most of us are just trying to cope with Him, you know, and coming up with tactics, worldly tactics to deal with this world, but none of them seem to stick. None of them seem to really have any potency to keep us. They may offer some momentary relief.

Father, then in this, it seems like talking about coping—like in the world today there's a lot of talk about how it's getting more and more hard to cope because the situations with climate change onwards, on all sides we are being challenged to cope. I don't know sometimes if it's just the news or it's in the air, if it's a reality. I don't know sometimes because sometimes you read books written in 1850 and they were also lamenting how the world is going to end and that there is no hope in sight. So I don't know the truth, I don't even want to delve into it, but it seems like maybe when it is getting so hard to cope that it is a wake-up call to speed up the connection. I don't know, Father, what do you think about this world and is it much harder to cope now?

Coping is much more difficult. I don't know if you can really—I don't know if you can authoritatively say that, but it seems that way. It seems like earlier, a few hundred years ago, it was more about coping like physically surviving, having enough food to eat or having medicine against disease and, you know, those kind of things. But now the mental coping seems more difficult. But I can't really say, I can't really say. I feel the mind was up to its tricks for a long time even then. For what are the five types of mental afflictions? To take the unreal to be real.

From the Ramacharitmanas, I heard in the last chapter he is describing what Kali Yug is like, and it really feels like you said, there's a pro and a con. And he said the advantage over here, why people still want to be born in this realm now, is because you can just take God's name and that should help you to move forward, rather than all the tapasya they had to do in Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga and all those.

Its tricks for a long time. Even then, what are the five types of mental afflictions? To take the unreal to be real. From the Ramacharitmanas, I heard in the last chapter he was describing what Kali Yug is like, and it really feels like you said—there's a pro and a con. And he said the advantage over here, why people still want to be born in this realm now, is because you can just take God's name and that should help you to move forward, rather than all the tapasya they have to do in Treta Yuga and Dwapara Yuga and all those other ones. Here, you just really just call for God and you will be helped. Just even saying His name is enough; you don't have to do so much more than that. It feels even difficult. I was reading also, similarly, Kakbhushundi Ji told Garuda Ji, and then Kakbhushundi told Yajnavalkya. And I was just like, how did Yajnavalkya come here? Because he's supposed to be like the Mahagyani variety of gurus. I've always had a fascination for Yajnavalkya, although I knew very little about him. But apparently, he heard the Ram Katha and that brought him to the realization. So it's so beautiful. How can hearing a narrative of God, the story of God—the Katha is literally the Gatha, the story—how can that bring us to truth and freedom?

This is what I meant to convey when I wanted to talk about the company that we are keeping. Yeah. So, even to immerse ourselves in the company of God's story, in the company of—and it doesn't matter, it could be Ram Katha, Krishna Leela, the Bible—as long as we are keeping the right company, then that starts to affect us. It has to affect us. And right now, the section I'm reading, Tulsidas Ji has gone at least some twenty or thirty verses talking about how the name of the Lord is the highest. He said the name Ram can bring us insight about the Nirguna and the Saguna, you see? Therefore, the name of God must be higher than Nirguna and Saguna. He said that if you chant the name of God, then even Ram has to come. So the name of Ram has to be higher even than Ram Himself. So in his devotion, it's so sweet that he has so much joy, so much love in chanting the name of God. And he's speaking from experience. Speaking from experience.

And that is why when they say that in this Kali Yug it's so difficult to do anything, but God has given us an easy way, which is to chant His name. So whatever gets us to be with Him is worthy; whatever makes it about 'me' is not worthy. And how will we know for sure? We know in our heart. See, even if it feels like, 'But I'm not able to hear my heart and I don't know if I feel the presence,' then also we have something called the conscience, which will prevent us from making the big mistakes at least. But the moment-to-moment, it's a bit of a bigger tool, a more gross tool to use moment-to-moment. For that, you need the presence of your heart to guide you. What is our intention? To make every moment in our life about God? Are we still hiding some parts? I don't know. At least this utter silence. What's our intention?

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Intention is true, but sometimes, like when you are really so intensely in it, then the mind says, 'Now, enough.' It's like, can we just do anything else but chant? Can I do anything? You know, go eat something? I mean, just anything but this anymore. And then you have to really say, 'Okay, it's only a thought. I don't have to believe it.'

It does happen. After sharing something for five hours sometimes, and it gets really late and I go back home, I'm just like, 'Now I'm just going to crash.' I see nothing. And thankfully, something brings me back to my senses fast, but it does happen. Especially when the body is tired, the mind uses those opportunities to try and say, 'Enough, enough.' Yeah, the mind is much more tricky to handle if the body is acting up. But it's also—I don't want to say too much about this—but the more you remain with presence, the less important the state of the body is in terms of the mind's ability to bully you about it, you see, and scare you about it. Especially—we can come to disease and pain later—but especially the idea of bodily comfort starts to diminish a lot, you see, as you are in presence. What used to be so important, like temperature and eating and all of these things, you see, become less and less meaningful. And yet they are taken care of.

We are so conditioned—and I've been observing some of this here—that we become so conditioned in this modern world that in the bath the water has to be just the right temperature, our food has to be just like this, our bed has to be just like this. You see, we become too conditioned to these things. And I'm noticing, at least here, that as I'm starting to deepen in His presence, it is becoming less and less important.

And the basis of this denial is the procrastination only, right? The basis of the denial of involving in Maya and forgetting God. Like in exams also, we don't study until the date comes, and work also, until the date is very near. We don't feel like it. It is very much embedded in human experience to delay it as much as you can.

You're right. It's really at the—I know I say 'at the crux of it' for fifty different things—but it's really so much about time, you see? That the mental tendency is to keep procrastinating, keep pushing it for later. But in this case, I feel it's a little more than like a laziness or a not wanting to put the effort. I feel like it's at a very deep level linked with this kind of fear of death, a fear of dissolution. Because we meet that which is so beyond human comprehension that the mind uses all kinds of things. But actually, it is scared. Scared of fully diving into this unknown. So it keeps—even though it may admit to everything it is hearing in satsang—it will get you to procrastinate in some way. That is the main tactic. The main tactic of the mind, especially for all of us, is not that you must forget about God, you see; it is to take it on in full earnest tomorrow. Full earnest. I will dedicate my life, surrender fully tomorrow.

So that's why these pointings from the sages are very precise. The mind will say, 'Yes, yes, tomorrow,' you see? Not like, 'Right now, I have given fully.' 'Yes, I'll do it, I'll do it.' And that tomorrow, does it come? It doesn't come. If it is up to the mind, it'll never come. And that is literally what is meant by that saying, 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions.' That we have the right intention, but we don't actually apply it in our life. We don't start. We keep procrastinating. But if you find a way to be in the right satsang—and not just people, again I'm saying—then that also has a force field. It pulls you in. Just like Maya has a force field, it pulls you in. So within Maya, God has given us enough escape routes. We just keep the right satsang. We read the right books, we watch the right satsang, we listen to the right bhajan, we listen to, you see, those who are really—that which is really connecting to God. That also has a force field; it pulls us in.

That's why these holidays are the most scary for a teacher. When you kids go on holidays, you just feel like, 'Okay, now this...' but that could lead to that, and that could lead to that, and that could lead to that. So that's why I'm always like, 'When are you back? When are you?' Because you don't know. What we immerse ourselves in then has an attractive power. And I had children who said, 'I'm just fully, fully surrendered to you. I'm fully in satsang. I'm just going for a week,' and they've never come back. So that week has not got over for ten years. So you see, these things happen because it is that force field at work. When you're here, hopefully you feel that you don't want to leave. And when you're in the world, then you don't want to come to God. It doesn't have to be the satsang; it's not about that. But so even if you notice yourself procrastinating, pushing it for tomorrow, you just put on a bhajan or read a verse. Then that gets you back in the mood.

And God is very gracious. He's always helping in these ways. Have you all noticed that? You could have just forgotten about Him all day, and then you just feel like, 'Oh, I just forgot about You, Father,' you know? And I'm speaking, of course, from my experience. But His presence, His light is there. We just have to trust that. And sometimes it's not so immediate, especially after waking up. That's why I keep telling you that waking up—when you wake up, it's very important. Sometimes I do wake up with this sense of disconnection, you see, and the world is seeming very real for those few minutes, few seconds, minutes. But that itself becomes unbearable. So you try—we pray, we plead with God, we inquire, whatever. We have all the tools. I don't feel anyone in the world now is empty of tools. The tools are more than enough, you see? And maybe that is also counterproductive, that there are too many tools, so the mind uses that as a confusion.

But to return to Him is what is most important. And one trap that can get many of us, especially in satsang, is that we misunderstand conceptual knowledge. We confuse that with heart insight. So we feel like, 'But why all this trouble? I know the truth. I am awareness.' But to know that you are awareness, you have to be in God's presence. You cannot recognize yourself—the self-knowledge cannot happen without the Satguru within. That is why He's the bringer of light, the light which shines the light on the unperceivable. So never fall into that trap. In being with God, insight is natural. But to try and be insightful without God's presence is just a mind tricking you. And many times we don't like hearing this because it hurts. It hurts our pride. Like, you just feel like, 'But I got it! But I got it! I know it now.' Why are you talking to me about this risky faith and putting ourselves on the line over and over again, and failing and then walking again, getting up again?

So we want the conceptual finality which the recognition of the Self gives us—or we want it to give us—but there is no such conceptual finality. See, it is moment to moment. To be in God's presence is when you can say, 'I am that.' Because if you say 'I am that' from your head, you are not speaking the truth, isn't it? So we must not get caught up in these traps. And the question 'Who is this about?' will clarify even all this. Many times when we feel like, 'I've studied a lot, I must pass this exam,' you see? And the exam's solution seems to be that 'I am awareness' or 'I am that.' Then it feels like, 'But I need to become the claimant of that certificate.' But that claimant itself is the mind making it about the wrong one. So there are many, many tricks and traps in this play, but time is one of the most important. There is nothing more important now, in any now, than to be with God.

Sometimes it will seem like the world has you completely. There are things—everything seems to be on fire. You have to do this, you have to do that, this is happening, this... even then, keep like a finger touching God. Keep yourself anchored in some way. Just say His name. Every few minutes say His name. Then that will keep you safe. God knows our circumstances fully. It's not that God doesn't know our circumstances fully; He knows fully. But given that those are the circumstances, are we still able to turn to Him to the best of our ability? The rest of it He will do for us. Even like my son, I speak to him sometimes and I'm like, 'Why haven't you called me?' Then he says, 'But I have been busy with some work and this happened and this happened and this happened.' If I know he's being genuine, then I'm not going to be angry with him. I'm not going to be upset saying, 'Why haven't you called?' So in the same way. But what touches you is if, in the middle of all that activity, he just sent a message in the middle saying, 'Hi Pa, how are you?' you know, like that. Then we can look at this as simple ways. In the middle of all the frantic nature of our life, we just remember God. But suppose that, conversely, suppose you're just wasting time, just some nonsense, complete waste of time, you see—

In the same way, what touches you is if in the middle of all that activity, he just sent a message saying, 'Hi, how are you?' You know, like that. We can look at this in simple ways. In the middle of all the frantic nature of our life, we just remember God. But suppose conversely, suppose you're just wasting time, just some nonsense, complete waste of time, you see? And then you say, 'Okay, now wasting time, Ananta said every few minutes I'll say the name of Ram.' That's fine, and it's better than nothing. Don't confuse it; it's better than nothing. But don't sell yourself short. Don't sell God this short. So, it's very different when life is squeezing your throat and you remember God, you see? That is beautiful. But if you are fully available, you can be fully available to Him, and you're just taking the box approach—that's not, you know in your heart, that's not good. So, within my circumstances, am I making myself as available as possible to be present with Him? That's it.

Then you will see in your life that those circumstances where life is squeezing your throat are just a few seconds where you have no space for God, and even that may not be so, you see? The mind paints a narrative and says, 'No, no, but today is so busy, you just went from meeting to meeting.' But if you're really observing in a meeting, most of the time you're just wasting time. Instead of that, you could have been with God, you see? So, life has made enough opportunities to pray. Don't let your mind fool you that you don't have time. And you'll see that your life will change. The more you create space for something, the more space comes for that. It's so beautiful, isn't it? Our good habits teach us how to deepen in our good habits; our bad habits teach us how to deepen in our bad habits.

So when we pray, we somehow get inspired. We find out how to go deeper, how to stay in our heart, what to pray—all that. But when we get involved in things which are about the 'me,' which are selfish, which are worldly, which are just momentary pleasure, you see, then that says, 'Okay, now this, now this, now this.' The stomach of that one is never full. So that is why today I feel like just emphasizing this: that whatever you make space for, whatever you grow in your life, that grows more and more. So even if it feels very difficult, even if you seem to have a very busy life, start with 30 seconds. Start with 30 seconds. That 30 seconds will give you 2 minutes; that 2 minutes will give you 1 hour, and then your life can change. If you keep saying, 'Today is too crazy, I'll start tomorrow,' then tomorrow, and in five or six days you won't even feel like it unless life has slapped you, then you're going to come back.

Yes. When my mother used to write Ram, today I was watching a video where it said that you can't leave it anywhere. That's why whenever you write the name Ram, you have to go and give it to the temple and you can't just discard it. And that's why I remembered that whenever she used to write that, she would go and give it to some temple. I don't know what they did, but yes, of course, you can't throw it in the garbage. You can't just leave it anywhere.

I mean, I did very little of this, I'm being honest. In my spiritual adventures, I did try to do everything, but I was not consistent in anything. So I've done this—like I got a huge book, and I can show you this huge book with so many pages, so large. Then I started writing and I finished like half a page and then discarded the whole project. But as long as you're not—you can keep it in the altar at home or something.

Yeah, I was today watching a video of Ram Suas Ji and he was telling that, yeah, you can't just keep it lying around somewhere. Because when I went for the retreat, I wrote, and then I don't know where I left the book.

Okay, so it's okay. Like if Kabir Ji and Rahim Ji were writing a letter to me—I'm not at all, I'm just making a metaphor—but I'm also intelligent enough to know that they didn't intend any disrespect. So as long as you didn't intend any disrespect, I don't feel... but now that we know, we have to be careful. My mom always used to say, growing up, all our books are Ma. But if you do it intentionally, you say, 'Oh...' When I saw that video, I felt very bad that, 'Oh, I don't know where I left that notepad.' And we know where to go now. The photos that we keep in homes, that also after some time when it's old and all, generally we either give it to a temple or there are some trees under which... so you can actually, if you go in bus and roads, you can actually see that under some trees there will be a collection of old photos and Ram. You can't just give it to the recycle guys.

It's also very important—my experiment with this or my contemplation into this always felt that, like we once spoke about why it is so important not to take God's name in vain. It's like you just say it casually. And now and then we sometimes cringe when we're watching some television or something, how these people are talking, you know? So what happens there? Because the more reverence we give to it within ourselves, you see, the more potent it becomes as a link to Him in my heart. So if I really... there's this power within us of giving reverence, of having faith. So the more we elevate it for ourselves, you see, the more it connects with that which is highest within us.

So the name of God—the name of Ram, Jesus, Krishna, Allah, the Waheguru—the more respect we will give to it because it is the name of God, you see? Like, how much respect would be enough? So somebody said for like a high school principal, and you were in high school, you see, and you're just taking their name and you're not saying 'Sir' or 'Mr. This' or 'Professor This,' you know, then that's taken as disrespect. And you yourself may feel like if it's a teacher you really love, then you will just call them 'Sir' or you'll just call them 'Miss Whatever.' You will not take their name like that. Now here's God. So with His name, when we are privileged to be able to invoke Him using whatever, you see, that is such a huge honor and privilege that I can call out to God. And we can call out to Him in so many ways, but if you're using it as an invocation of Him, then how much respect would be the right amount of respect? Everything that we can fathom, isn't it? Every bit of respect that we can fathom.

So if you give it that reverence, if we give it that respect, then it becomes truly a connection with that which is the highest within ourselves. But if we ourselves treat it shabby, then He's not going to get affected by it. It is creating an obstacle in our own sadhana, isn't it? So that's why it's important. Like there's this very sweet teacher, forgetting the name, something Mackie, the Bible Project, the one who does that. So every time he says 'Jesus,' even when he's talking, he doesn't say just 'Jesus.' If you notice, he says 'Jesus' like he invokes Jesus every time he uses the name, which I found so touching, so beautiful. That we can say Ram, we can say Jesus. Now are we just going to say it casually? I can't even bring myself to imitate it. So we must offer all our loving reverence, all our love and humility and servitude in that invocation of the Holy Name.

When I was younger and more rebellious and all of that, then I used to think these things are all nonsense, they are all stupid, why would God be bothered? So it's not about God; it's about our own spirituality, our own depth. So if you've written His name a thousand times and then we just throw it away or we just treat it with disrespect, then that is loosening our own reverence, our own love for Him. So again, to use the worldly metaphor, if you're in the initial few weeks of a relationship, your beloved sends you a letter—do you just read it and throw it away? No, you keep it safely. In the olden days—now this may sound too old for all of you—but in the olden days people would send flowers to each other. Then people would keep those flowers in a book, in the books. You never lose those flowers.

So if you can do this for worldly relationships, we're talking about our relationship with God. How much respect, how much reverence should we have? So it's not fear-based, but love-based. Because we're not keeping the flower of the beloved because of a fear, but we're keeping it out of love. It's not about getting brownie points from God. It's about for us; we need to have that. It's needed for our own sake, for our own spiritual health. We need to keep our spirituality clean and beautiful like that. The temple has to be clean that way. If the same name that you invoke to meet that highest, if that itself we don't respect, then it's going to be a disservice to our own. Suppose we use the name of God casually and we became like a casual correlation or something like that. Then when we are saying it, our mind will bring us that also; it will bring us the garbage we put with it also. Because you think the label 'mango,' the visual of mango comes. So if you attached the Holy Name with things which are not so holy, then that will come to your antahkarana. So none of this is meant to make anyone guilty or anything. Just starting now. Just starting now. And you don't have to become fanatical about any of these things. You don't have to become anything like that. Just in your heart you should know that you are respecting it to the highest because He is the highest.

Yes. Yesterday there was a situation at work and there was some anger being generated inside. Suddenly I realized your words: 'Is this the inner environment I want to give God?' And realizing that, the anger just vanished. It was so beautiful to just watch that. So grateful to you, Father.

Very good. And then we realize that we are not as hostage to feelings and things as we like to believe. So you notice that, and whenever we notice it, it is good. At least we noticed.

And even the Mirabai Ma, yes, all the episodes I've watched, Father. The kind of devotion and love she had for Krishna, it's beautiful, Father. And like you said, the last weekend was like back-to-back episodes of hers and it was all infused, you know, with that. And for me it was just staying and being in the presence of God really, literally. It's so contagious, you know? Like it is that whatever you immerse yourself in then takes on more. But the thing is, Father, I was also doubting somewhere because she had such doubtless faith in Krishna. Somewhere I really feel, will I ever be able to reach that kind of a place and that faith?

Maybe none of us will. Maybe none of us ever will. But it's not a race, it's not a competition. It's just that God knows. And as long as we are inspired by that and we keep growing, that's all we can do. Because the mind comes and scares us with these things and says, 'Okay, but you're not really that much, you can never be that much.' It's not about that. It's about: can I deepen one step? One step. And it's so beautiful what you shared right now about the reverence that we have, you know? For that is the ingredient which we really need. So it's beautiful. So there's a saying, there's an adage that when we have reverence towards them, it is for us. Yes, it helps us, deepens us. It becomes a Holy Name for us. So whatever saints, beautiful sages have been there in every tradition, to have reverence for them is for our sake. Very good. So then you can now watch the previous ones. The previous story is Tulsidas Ji. We can send the name. Where do we start the Tulsidas one? I can... so just the story before Madhavi Ji is very beautiful. And soon I feel like YouTube and all these platforms will have the ability—like right now you can put like autogenerated captions—I feel like very soon with the AI and things you'll have...

Whatever beautiful Saints and sages have been there in every tradition, to have reverence for them is for our sake. So then you can watch the previous ones. The previous story is there. We can send the name. Where do we start the Tulsidas one? I can... so there, just the story before Madhavi Ji is very beautiful. And soon I feel like YouTube and all these platforms will have the ability—like right now you can put autogenerated captions—I feel like very soon with AI and things, you'll have auto-dubbing, which Georgie will get upset with. But then at least Georgie can get to see... she will have no work, but secondly, she can get to see all these things that are there with auto-translation into, you know, either English or Spanish or whatever you want. So they'll be also available and we can watch so many things from every part of the world translated. I feel it's just a year or two away that that will happen.

You listen to all these beautiful programs. What is... pray to God? Yes, they have the autogenerated... oh, they have it?

Yeah, but then you'll be able to hear it like that. You just play it in Spanish or play it in English, play it in whatever, and then you hear it like that. That's not far because already the technology is there; they must be integrating it. It'll keep getting better and better. Like earlier, the Malayalam movies you wanted to watch, but sometimes you're not paying full attention so you can't read every subtitle and everything. So they used to have the Hindi dub. But the dubbing was so bad then you're like, you'd rather not watch it. But now it's much better. If you watch the latest Malayalam movie, like your Manjummel Boys or something like that, the Hindi dub is not too bad actually. And in the same way, technology will be able to do that soon. It will be pretty seamless.

So it'll have many downsides, I'm sure, but also some upsides. I feel like God will always leave the application in our lives up to us. So we may lament about what this technology will do to the world and things, but for us, it will also bring some very beautiful things if you use it that way. So right now I can put in words of the Ramacharitmanas and say, 'Find all the similar verses from every scripture in the world.' It doesn't do a 100% job, but imagine having to sit on yourself and do that research. Just that you can do. So a lot of it will be based on how we want to use it. Hopefully... the worst case according to these futurists is it'll take on a life of its own and kill us all, but that's then nothing to do.

Very similar. You said that you can... I was like quite shocked, I mean not shocked, it sounded really nice. And also the seven steps, it says are the seven... I haven't got through that part yet, the seven parts. He keeps talking about the within, the Antahkarana, to come to the Divine in the... because I was feeling a little better then, in the war zone. This mic is not working today, so we returned to the old days, just having a bad... I don't know what I was going to say. Sometimes you have those days. Oh, you asked me about if I was better than yesterday. And it was a challenging scene and it triggered a deep wound and it was very, very fiery. In the past, I would have reacted on that, and it was just about just walking to my room. And I was going to ask her... she started praying. It took a while because it just kept coming back because it meant so much to the conditioning.

Yes, exactly.

But I just did all I knew, and it's true. I read a verse from the Gita book that said something similar to what you said today at the beginning. Sometimes these truths seem like we're reading them for the first time, especially in those moments. Just focus on me, focus on me, focus on me. And then you realize in those moments that you can focus on Him even though it doesn't seem like it. And that's all you need to do. You don't need to do anything else sometimes.

Yes, but to make that effort when it seems so difficult is more than worth it. Not just for us, but if we remain in that state, then that's what we're spreading. So the one who gave it to you also caught it from somewhere, you see? Through their life, it flows in this way.

I saw that the mind kept focusing on, you know, the person causing the hurt or whatever. So to pray for them is such a beautiful tool. Pray for those who attack us because they are attacked themselves. They're feeling attacked at least by something in their life. So sometimes it seems very difficult to just forgive immediately, so then we can pray and our prayer will bring us to that place.

It's from there that it comes. Because with reason, it works for a millisecond; it doesn't really... it's not exactly... it doesn't hold. Yes, we can use our reason, we can use our concepts or spiritual concepts, you see, but it has to bring us to our heart. Without that, it just is surface level and it will seem too difficult. It'll seem like we're acting or something. But if you really go within and pray for the one who has attacked you, then you're helping them, you're helping yourself, and also—not that this is primary—but it happens that God sorts it out in here.

Yeah, of course, of course, of course. The tiniest things He takes care of.

Not that this was a tiny thing. I'm saying that He is the one who takes care of even the tiniest things. So when these seeming big things happen in our life, of course He's taking care. But to have that trust that in spite of my being with Him, in spite of my even petitioning Him, if something is not going in that direction, then obviously I am the one reading the situation wrong in the sense that He is obviously moving in that which is best for my growth, for my spirituality, but I'm not able to see that yet. So I'm the one who is restricted by the power of my thinking. That kind of trust, once we start to build, then you see... see, miracles are happening in everybody's lives, but our mind doesn't let us see them. It blocks us from really recognizing the beauty of how our life is unfolding. It is stunning if you could actually just see.

So we never have a reason to have a grievance. We never have a reason to hold something against our brother or sister. It does serve greatly; it is very powerful. But you say, 'Hate the sin and not the sinner.' Exactly. Because the mind's whole game plan is rooted in that. When someone says, suppose says something rude, I'm just like, 'This boy,' you see? So it quickly moves to 'this boy' instead of 'What was that? Where was it coming from? What is the block?' you see? So this is what the mind wants to do. It wants us to hate, it wants us to be in anger, it wants us to resent, it wants us to have grievances. And if you just don't make it personal in that way and you just keep it about the thing—how am I seeing it differently than how He's seeing it? You see? What is that difference?

And if you do it with openness... of course it seems very difficult to do it with openness, but if you're truly open, saying, 'Actually, is he the one seeing it right? Am I the one seeing it wrong?' then that changes something, you know? And it makes it about that—about that block, that error, that separation. What is sin? It is just a fragment of a separation from God, isn't it? That which keeps us away. In a way, it's related to what C.S. Lewis said. He said hell is not somewhere that we will go to; hell is just that something which is growing within us. If it just grows fully, what it becomes is it. So that egoic pride, that egoic sense of separation, if it just keeps growing, growing, growing like that, that is where it is leading us to. A life full of anxiety, suffering, pride—all of that is where we are going.

So sin is that which makes us seem separate. So if you can focus on that and say, 'What is blocking their light first? Am I seeing it wrong?' then to follow your heart about that and then to look at the block and not make it about 'he is always like this' or 'she is always like that.' We are very quick to jump into those situations and then we block all the love from our heart. And then just like reverence for God, when we resent or we hate or we have grievances, who is it hurting? It is hurting us, you see? The other one may forget about us very soon, but we have gotten into this more separation, more distance from God.

So if you look at it as a disease, that is more accurate. Somebody's got like an anger problem, then poor things, no? Actually, like imagine living like that. Your inner heart temple is completely blocked because you're angry all the time. Would you want that kind of situation for an enemy? You wouldn't want that for an enemy. So imagine what kind of life they are going through already. It's just like they're diseased by something. So to be resentful or angry about someone because they have a problem in that way, it's like saying somebody's got a disease and then you're angry with them. And these diseases of the heart are worse than physical diseases. So it is not our place to resent. It is not our place to respond to anger with anger. That's how hate spreads, that's how ego spreads. You can block the chain and bless the situation with our love, with our prayer, then we've broken that cycle.

Also, I realized at the beginning that there was no questioning of my own position, you know? Like I was the good one, I did nothing wrong. And there was no question, you know, that there's a story behind everyone's story. And there was no difference between my story and his story. It's like we can just roll that out completely. But it's tough, no? Because in this Maya, it is designed like if somebody's angry at us, then it starts to bubble here also, you see? It's designed that way.

But those who can deepen and start to live more in their heart, then they can let go of that, you see? This momentary design of this play. Like, also give me a very good example of once you're running in the park, so someone comes... you're just like stretching and exercising, but this like old man told him, 'Don't do that.' You know, sometimes you have these people in every park, like the policeman of the park. So he said like that, 'Don't do like that, you shouldn't.' And then initially some like this thing can come, you know, that 'I didn't do anything wrong, it's not good, nothing.' But he then just checked. He said, 'Okay, he could have been right actually.' Because that would have been quite catastrophic if he turned out being... even if the odds of him being right were very low, at least there were some odds; it was not zero. So then it opens us up a little bit. Then we're not... we don't respond to like pride with pride and anger with anger. And if you actually leave all justice to God, then you're free from the burden.

That's why I love this movie I saw yesterday, and I still feel—although it's definitely recency bias—but I still feel like it's the best movie I've seen, called 'The Man of God,' where Saint Nektarios... I'm still pronouncing it wrong I'm sure, but Nektarios... he led such a beautiful life that anyone... he was so persecuted wrongly, so many things happened against him, but he said, 'Forgive me.' He said to his persecutor also, who was persecuting him wrongly, he said, 'Forgive me, I made you angry.' This man in the school where he was teaching got very upset and threw some books and did all that, and then that man at least thankfully said, 'I'm so sorry I got angry.' So Saint Nektarios said, 'No, forgive me. I am sorry because I made you angry.' He didn't do anything actually. He was just so touched by this. So this man later... because he resented his godly ways... but later he said that, 'I'm starting to doubt whether you're actually human, the way you are.' So you can get through to the most hard-hearted ones if you just stay... you don't move from His presence, then even the most hard-hearted ones will start to soften up.

And at least thankfully said so, 'I'm so sorry I got angry.' So Saint Naria said, 'No, forgive me. I am sorry because I made you angry.' He didn't do anything actually, he was just so touched by this. See, so this man later, because he resented his Godly ways, but later he said that, 'I'm starting to doubt whether you're actually human, the way you are.' So you can get through to the most hard-hearted ones if you just stay—you don't move from His presence—then even the most hard-hearted ones will start to soften up if that is His will. But it is not our job to pronounce judgment, to serve justice for sure. To respond to hate with hate, to pride with pride, and anger with anger is not our job. It's a lack of faith in God. I don't know if you see it that way, but to take justice into our hands means that we don't trust God will do it, so I have to. And the fact is that we operate on our mind's narratives, which we know for sure are never—they never have the full picture anyway. So don't waste your time. Don't waste one minute on resentment, on anger, on pride. Of course it comes, but don't accept. Like, don't accept the gift. Gifts will keep coming, you see? In this Lila, it'll keep coming. Yeah, 'Here's a sword for you to cut off the other one's head. Here's your response. Here's this thing.' It'll keep coming. This mind will give you—it seems the world around you gives you every opportunity. You don't take the gift. Yeah.

It's still blue. Okay, let's try. Let's try. It's a good thing nobody watching online will be angry. This, I don't know if it's working, but this is on anger. And one of the jungle saints, very, very devotional, very, very full of Bhakti. And so this Shri Kanaiyalal asked him—he was saying, 'I want to share something, that these days I feel angry when I watch movies that the people make these days, and they portray Ram like this and they portray Hanuman Ji like this in a very wrong way, and it's teaching our new generation wrong things about God.' And the saint's response was so drastic, you could see the shock on him. He said, 'Stop being angry. Don't get angry. Why are you angry?' With so much innocence he said, 'At least they took the name of God and they portrayed Him in whatever way they can, but they are at least taking His name, you know? And you should...' So I can't remember, but it was so—even I was so taken back at the immediate response. First, you cannot be angry. And then he said, you know, just—it was so good. And with full innocence, you know, you can see where the interviewer asked the question from, but you can also see where the saint answered it from. It was so amazing. Yes, just prostrate at their feet because they're taking the name of God. But you know, you also see scriptures saying don't take the name of God in vain. But his response was coming from his pure heart, knowing that there's no particular rule for anything. And it is for us to apply for ourselves, not to give us a sword to attack other people. Beautiful. Very.

So with all these great sages, you know, like Bhagavan, with Yogi Ji, Yogi Ramsuratkumar Ji, they had these attackers. And with Yogi, what happened one time was—and the devotees can correct me if I'm wrong—but what happened one time is that they printed some pamphlets against him saying that he did this and he's done that and he's done that. So he said, 'Do we know that printing press where they printed all this?' He said, 'Let's get them to print a few more and distribute even more.' Because then—and in Bhagavan there is a similar story, so maybe I'm confusing both of them—but then only the ones who truly want God will come. The ones whose faith is very weak, they will not come. Now it's okay. Beautiful.

Ah, so the Yogi, it was an article in probably Illustrated Weekly or something like that. Ma told me about that. In those days there was a magazine, almost a half-tabloid type magazine, which was called the Illustrated Weekly. So in that, they published some article about him which was not complimentary. So he said, 'Let's get some more copies and distribute the blessings.' So he opened every page and he's blessing. Bless. And Ma is like, 'What are you doing?' I feel like that was a usual reaction to most of what he did, at least from the way she says so. Like, 'What are you doing?' Sages teach so much in just being around them. He told everyone around the ashram that, 'Let's go, we are going to Chennai.' So everybody got on the bus, they got to Chennai. They got to Chennai, he's like, 'Okay, let's go back. We are going back right now.' So he didn't stop.

There is the living presence of God within ourselves, but our conditioning is so deeply invested in taking ourselves to be a bundle of just flesh and blood. You see, what is that which makes it ring true for us that God's presence lives within us? That is out of this world. So these are all God's lifelines: reverence, faith, to be able to bless, to be able to pray. They're not human inventions. It's not like man said, 'Okay, I'll invent the wheel, I'll invent fire, one day let me invent prayer.' It's not like that. It's something innate in us, you see, which in the world we get more and more distant from when we get more and more involved in Maya. You see, these things are very innately gifted to us. And to find the source of that gift can only be intuitive. Only dive into our heart to see what makes me feel love, what makes me cry when I see compassion or kindness. Where does it come from, all of this? It's not a human invention.

And this much actually should be enough to open the eyes of any atheist, like I was, because I didn't notice all of these things properly. I didn't really—I thought I was very scientific, but I never asked, 'What is all this? Where does it come from?' So much intelligence is here, so much beauty is here, and I am sitting and thinking that all this must have come from nothing. How is that a better explanation than it coming from a greater beauty, from a greater intelligence? Even rationally it doesn't make sense. We have no answers to any real question. What are we doing here? Why is there all of this? What is the nature of death? It is like such a—if you were just to make it scientific odds, it's like immensely low probability of life. But what is life? Who put it there? Just some gases started to collide and create substances and life came? And not just this—I ranted about this the other day also—but not just did life come like single-cellular organisms, then those single cells started to work with each other, that 'You, Mr. Mitochondria, will serve as my energy reserve, and you, I will do this job, I will find the food.' See, who made all that cooperation happen? Is it bacteria sitting around and they just like, 'Okay, now I'm going to think about how to work with that one'?

So from the way I see it, and as foolish as I was before, but atheism seems like the most irrational thing to follow. It just makes no sense. But maybe it is because of the deepening of faith that it seems so apparent. I used to feel like it makes the most sense, that all this talk about God was nonsense. That's what I used to feel, and now it's just the other way around. Somewhere just less care to just feel like this is it, you don't worry about these big, big things. But if you were to really examine our life and how it is functioning, it is impossible to have functioned like this without God. Yeah, at least the way I see it.

My Google account was suspended because it's not verified, so I had no clients coming to me. And just one—let's say today—I was like, 'Okay, you know, I have to... there are no patients coming, there are no appointments.' And I don't know when the Google account opened, like they released the suspension. It doesn't... like they had clearly withdrawn. And appointments started coming, and that day I had three calls. It was like—I told you about it—and I didn't know what to say exactly. It was clearly God's hand in it.

This is how faith just keeps deepening everything. I've seen that there's a mind version and there's a heart version. Like I was saying about watching the Ramayana also. The mind version is, 'Yeah, of course, Vibhishana was Ravana's brother, so to get all the information from him, it was smart politics to appoint him king or future king of Lanka.' It's what all these negotiations and politics is all about. The mind can reduce everything to that level. But does that help us in any way? It hurts. We cut the branch on which we are sitting in this way. Yes, so much beauty that, yeah, your brother of that one who has caused you such harm, you're not suspicious about him. You're giving space in your house basically, and you can see in his eyes that he loves God, he loves you so much. So we must gravitate towards the higher lessons that we can learn always. Don't let your mind pull everything down to the lowest common denominator.

Father, same thing with me also. Tuesday, like at 11:00 or so, I got that mail that the client doesn't want to increase the team for which I joined, so they are moving me to another project. In one hour, I got a call from that college I interviewed in March—like two months now—they're saying like they're interested.

Mind will find a way to make it like, 'Oh, by chance, coincidence.' It's not. And the amount of times these things happen in our life, and God has been saying hello to us so often, and we just don't turn to Him. So I'm very glad that you share His love in this way. Hand is up. I'm not able to join.

Pranam, Father. Thank you. No, Father, the one which mentioned about the name and form, the importance of Tulsidas Ji giving to the name. I was also following the similar, the same Chaupai few days back and I marked it and I wanted to read it with you, but it's too late today. Should I bring it next time?

Well, no, let's do it. Let's read this. Thank you.

Let me open. I'll try to read it and translate in Hindi and also probably in English if it makes sense. It's on page 25. Page 25. We can share first, second, third... let's start from the third Chaupai after the Doha. So page number 25, it is the first Chaupai after the Doha starts with 'Samu jahi'. Okay, so I'll talk about Hindi what it says. 'Naam' or 'Nami'. So I think he's saying that—Father, correct me—that if you understand the name and the named one, though both are one, if you try to understand like Ram as a name and Ram as a person, both are one. But between those two there's a relation of servant and God, or Swami, or the owner and a servant, and the love is equivalent. It means, Father, he wants to say that even though the name and the person who is named—in case of God, so Ram name and Ram form—are one, but when you call the name Ram, the form follows it. Yeah. And that's why he is giving so much value to the name. Talking about you cannot talk about it, you cannot listen to it, and it's very beautiful. Only through talking about Budhi again, in the bracket Hanuman has written, and he's saying to Sundar word. So it's exactly, Father, what you are saying for so much time. But if you read the next all Chaupais about Naam, it's literally—you can't believe it. I mean, it looks like, 'Okay, it's too much, right?' It's getting in the cringe level, as you said earlier in one of the...

Look, I will just—I don't know if it's audible—the 'cringe' I was saying is for when in some television programs they use the name in vain, you know, like God's name or Jesus's. I was saying that is cringe. Here, it's so beautiful actually. I'm just on these portions themselves. I just finished all of this where those verses where he says that those who bless us are also blessed by it. So beautiful, because he said the same thing a little earlier, that—I can't find the words now—where that which brings to light that which is Nirguna Brahman and also brings to light which is Saguna, which is Ram himself, so that has to be greater than either the Nirguna and the Saguna. So we must hear this from the heart of a devotee, thinking that so much gratitude is there for that which has brought...

And those verses where he says that, which means that those who bless us are also blessed by it. It is so beautiful because he said the same thing a little earlier, that I can't find the words now, where that which brings to light that which is Nirguna Brahman and also brings to light which is Saguna, which is Ram himself, so that has to be greater than either the Nirguna and the Saguna. So we must hear this from the heart of a devotee. Think that so much gratitude is there for that which has brought us to God, got us to him, that we must give it such a high importance, such a high value, such a high honor. It's beautiful. As a devotee, of course, I will say, and not at all doubting what is being said here, but to listen to it from the heart of the devotee is important because the power of the name, the power of being able to call Ram, call God by his name, is also ultimately given by God himself. So of course, Tulsidas Ji, as the greatest bhakta of Ram, is inspiring us to take Ram's name more than anything else. But all glory to him, and may we meet him through his name in this way. But I'm very touched that you're reading this, and you read so beautifully also. And happy I'm singing.

Can I read one more? One more? It's like second last on the same page. The answer you said, answer to my question about, you know, praying to the form of God and how it is different from God. So he said, in English he is saying, if I may translate: So the form without name is unimaginable, even if it is as real as it is kept in your hand. But when you take the name, the form follows in terms of imagination, and it also comes in the heart of the one who is in love with him. Yes, right? So the importance of name, Father, it is... when I first time I'm reading it in that, that name and form is so many times I've heard with so many spiritual places, but the way Tulsidas Ji is saying, and I can relate to almost everything, Father, what you are teaching us. Thank you. Thank you very much for this.

Welcome. So, so good. Thank you. Thank you for the sharing. It's very beautiful. Very beautiful.

Just gratitude. It became clear that... one second, let's hear what he's saying. It became clear that sometimes, like, the spirit of God uses someone to speak to you, you know, but they themselves are not like fully conscious about the reality of God, you know? And it's something that I've really seen this, and I'm just so grateful because, you know, I don't know if you know about prophets and because when I was growing up in school, sometimes the spirit of God would speak through like a prophet and speak to you something, but they are not like... because the sense of personhood is strong, the reality of personhood is too deeply strong in them. And I don't know, so much grace that I was able to come directly to you, directly to Papaji, because yes, it's something worthless. I don't know what can really express. But I just find that it's really amazing how God can use someone who is not, at the same time, they're not fully... they don't know about the sense of the reality of, like, the unreality of the person, but the spirit still uses them to speak to you something. For example, 'the kingdom of God is within you.' We always hear this thing when I was growing up, although I used to sometimes wonder about it. And even reading the Bible, where maybe I'll be stubborn or something and they send me to go sleep and I'll read, and the prophet in Jeremiah, he says that 'before you were formed in the womb, I knew you.' Like this sense of clothes which you don't really see it, it's read in the Bible, but if you're really open, you do see it. Yeah. And it's like everything somehow is wiring me to be able to hear what you speak and to be able to assimilate what you speak. And it's just this thing where somehow they say something, but they are fully conscious about what they say, but it's like God still uses even if someone is not fully conscious about what they're saying, the spirit still uses them to echo something else in another form. It's just so... and he has really shown me the limitations of the human nature, its intellect of judging, of thinking that somebody is not as evolved or some kind of thing like this. Because you know, you can be like... it's so beyond words. I'm just so grateful to you for revealing this in my heart. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Very beautiful to hear your words as always. Thank you. Very good. Very good. Okay, let's go to the next one.

Father, I have been writing to you as well. When we are in satsang, like the last satsang I attended before moving out from Bangalore, I was so charged and God's presence was palpable and extremely blissful. But you know, it wanes away with more and more interaction with the world and by me choosing to go with the story of the mind. In this context, like now again, it's so blissful listening to your Ram. You sing so sweetly. It is sweet. So you know, I heard one of the saints say this in the context of retaining this satsang after the official satsang session is over: Does it mean that while being open and empty, you start chanting simultaneously? I don't know what context it was said.

Don't have to worry. Just be. Don't worry. I mean, don't put any obstacle to... and I respect you said it's a saint who said it, so obviously it is most likely that I'm misunderstanding. But just for all of you, I want to say, just you start praying, you start doing the japa. Don't worry. It's okay.

Brother, in this context, I see this: that when it is open and empty, and this reminder comes that Father has asked us to chant even when you're open and empty, and the heart loves to chant, sometimes this conflict comes that, you know, the end goal of open and of chanting is open and empty. So when you're already open and empty, why do you chant? But somewhere I do feel that the chanting would sustain the satsang or being open and empty. So there's this block here I wanted to expose.

The end goal of both open and empty and chanting is the true Atma Gyan, true insight, true insight, true love for God, and true servitude to God. So that is the end goal of both of those. So God himself is the end goal. Because only in God's light, as the Satguru presence, as the Atma within, can we come to true self-knowledge, the true recognition of the Nirguna Brahman, the pure awareness as our reality. And the true love for God is deepened as we remain in the unborn or as we chant his name or any spiritual path. And the sense of being empty of all pride and for this life to be in service to him—all of this are the fruits of whatever spiritual practice we may employ. So don't worry, you don't have to... none of the spiritual practices are in competition with each other. You don't have to worry about picking the highest one or not picking a lower one. Just keep God in your focus and the right method, the right way to do it, will also reveal itself, and it may change from time to time. So don't have to worry about any of that.

Thank you, sir.

You may find that as you keep chanting, you may come to states where you're fully empty. You may be in some states also, but the value is not about the state that we get into. The value is who we meet in that state. The value is always about who we meet. And God has not made a restriction that you can only meet me like this or you cannot meet me like that. So no state is of any value independent of who is there, you see? All value comes from the fact of who is there. Otherwise, why would a dark empty space be of any value? Like, why would the samadhi state be valuable? Otherwise, it's a pure limbo state without God. So who wants to be in a pure limbo? It sounds like hell. So samadhi is valuable only because we recognize who is there in the Nirguna form or even in the Saguna form—like the subtlest Saguna may be there. But the world may vanish, our body may vanish, sometimes it'll feel like our breath may vanish. But all of that is valuable only because God is present. God is showing us even that which is beyond presence and absence. So you keep your eyes on him and then all this will get sorted out. Don't try to do this for yourselves because anytime we try to exert our own ideas or our own curriculum on ourselves, then we are sort of inadvertently blocking the curriculum of the Atma. In your discipleship of the Atma, allow him to guide you every moment. Very good. Very good. I feel Grace has created the perfect environment for you to deepen in your love for God, in your coming to his light. So have that faith and keep deepening like you are. What is the perfect environment? That which doesn't feel like the perfect environment, where our throat is being squeezed. It doesn't feel like a perfect environment, isn't it? Okay, let's go to the next one. Can you hear me?

Just about, my dear. Is it better now? Ah, yes, yes, much better. Thank you. Thank you for today's satsang. Very... I just felt to come somehow. Yeah, I saw some of that back and forth happened again today. It's... yeah, also this little bit I feel at one point to speak to you, then at another point now. And yeah, it's fine, that's fine. Don't worry. It's... yeah, I just would somehow... I like to ask you for your help, but I don't know if it's... I just feel I need your help.

It is becoming clearer and clearer to me that the best way in which I can help you is to bring you in my prayer to God. Talk to him about you rather than so much talk to you about him. I don't know if any of you are getting a sense of what I'm saying. So I'm praying for you. Let's see. Let's see.

In satsang, I felt the rush of the mind and then I just had a like beautiful satsang and then I just feel to speak to you and it suddenly comes so strong.

Yeah, it's very good. Yeah. Bless you all. Love you all so much. My love.