Satsang : This Direct Way of Truth Is The Simplest but Also The Most Difficult

Somebody saying it's impossible. Actually every shape is effort. Every shape is effort. Your mind may be saying to you that that is too much effort to remain shapeless. It may seem that way temporarily, provisionally. What's your report? Simple, no? Because no, I don't know, it's all all confused. At what level of your existence is the confusion? Does it contain the whole of you? If confusion contains you or you contain the confusion, how much of your space is the confusion taking? Small. Give yourself very small, you see. So just like the germs and the antibodies in the body, they must be constantly fighting. So let them fight. What do you have to do with it? What is confusion? Contradictory concepts, you see, fighting for supremacy, isn't it? You want a result from that? No result will be a true representative of reality. Whatever results come from that fight, it will not represent reality accurately.

What are the two concepts, for example? Yes, so like openness, truth, simple. I can't understand what they are, see. So at the level of your intellect, you are not understanding them. That's good. Because if you're just using the words in satsang to increase your mental understanding, then I'm not doing my job properly. Somewhere provisionally, let's call it a deeper layer in your existence, none of this is confusing. In the core of your being, what is being spoken is obvious because that's where it is coming from. If the fight happened in your intellect, what is the greatest result you could get out of it? Some true concept will come saying 'this is the truth.' It cannot be that way. Truth cannot be so small. Is it just the result? Okay, now if I tell you that your notion of confusion equals bad is a bad conclusion. If I tell you that your notion that confusion equals a bad thing, which is the popular notion in the world, you see, it's just a bad conclusion in itself, then I'm actually saving you a lot of time. Saving you a lot of time because most of us—like this is exactly the game I was talking about—most in Jnana Yoga feel like the game is to come to some conceptual clarity. The clarity that we come to is beyond concept. That's a strange thing.

That's why there can be so many times in satsang, because the master is trying to bring you beyond your mind. And what the seeker is usually asking for is mental clarity, which means that 'I must have the truth in my mind,' which means that this notion must perfectly capture it or a set of notions must perfectly capture the truth. Until you drop this trying to contain the truth in your intellect, the journey can continue. The moment you are not involved in that idea, truth is truth, always is. But the truth is apparent. So let the intellect fight amongst itself. Now you can never be actually confused because if you could lose the truth in this way, then the truth could never be found. It's only the mind's presentation, it's only the mind's sales pitch. Let's see, this is your problem, this is evidence number one, exhibit A, evidence number two, exhibit B, you see. Therefore you must be lost or you must be confused. And when you buy into the mind's framing, then you start solving non-existent problems. Freedom is an attempt to solve a non-existent problem, that there never was any bondage. Bondage is only in the mind's presentation.

What shape do you have to give yourself to consider yourself to be bound? What shape do you have to give yourself to consider yourself to be bound? The shape of an individual. That is called the ego. The idea that 'I am an individual' is the ego, or let's say the belief in the idea that 'I am the individual' is the ego. So stop. What is forcing you? What is forcing you? The habit is like a momentum. There is a certain inertia of operating in that way and satsang is the addiction from that habit, that's all. What is your shape now? Even to check on this, where will you go? What is there to solve, resolve, find? So, as do you have shape as an individual? What's the shape? What's the individual shape? An individual means separate from others. Doesn't it mean there's a me separate from the rest of this appearance? What is the boundary of this me?

It's a thought.

So the individual is a thought. You are a thought? You see that I still have a shape, and then you see when I look for the shape I don't really find a definite shape. It's more like a thought, you see. Now two questions were asked. Is it that the individual is a thought? And you could look and you may actually say yes, you see, it is just thought. But when I ask you, are you a thought? See, because you cannot be a thought because you are present in the space between two thoughts as well. Thought comes, there is space, next thought comes, but you are there to witness no-mind and mind. So what is your shape? The one that witnesses mind and no-mind, what is that shape? Has no shape. What does it have to do with you? It's you. Okay, so you're right that the thought is proposing a shape. It's proposing a shape, but what forces you to accept the proposal except habit?

Does the fear carry a message? You are in a protected environment, satsang, you see. Guruji is here, so nothing will happen to you. Try to dismount. Let's see what can happen. Dismount from your shape. Just let it go. Let's see if your head explodes. So the fear is unfounded. I mean, nothing is happening. So let me help you. You dismounted. You're empty of shape right now. What's your trouble now? If you start thinking about it, it can't be that simple. This is what the mind will tell. That's what I'm saying is the most simple and the most difficult, you see. So, more simple because it's just like this. Most difficult because we have an idea of how what it should be like and we want to be right about that. Is it? At least we have this idea that it must be difficult, that's why it's rare and very few can get over this simple idea. It's nonsense, you see, because the truth always is. That is the whole premise of spirituality, you see. But most in spirituality just can't get over this idea that it is so simple, or it cannot be so simple. See, these two or three basic ideas—that it can't be like this, or how does that help me—these three or four ideas, they keep us bound. They keep proposing this shape and we keep buying into that idea. There is so many things, so many individuals and all these. Where are they? Where are the individuals? What is the dividing line between your consciousness and another consciousness, your beingness and the beingness of another?

You just can't get over this idea that it is so simple, or it cannot be so simple. See, these two or three basic ideas—that it can't be like this, or how does that help me—these three or four ideas, they keep us bound. They keep proposing this shape and we keep buying into that idea. There are so many things, so many individuals and all these. Where are they? Where are the individuals? What is the dividing line between your consciousness and another consciousness? Your beingness and the beingness of another? What is the line? Just a name, just a concept, just a mental version of what is. Where are you right now? Sitting inside the body somewhere? Then other individuals are aware inside, inside the same being. That means no other individual than one being.

Nothing needs to happen, not even any sort of transmission. And nothing, yes, simple. The announcement of the being is happening here. And where? It's somehow associated with this body. Ah, yeah. Where in the body? If I start looking inside the body, will I find the being somewhere there? Inside the liver, kidney, stomach? It's not that hard. Where is the being in the body? You have a dream. You have a body in that dream also. It seems to experience pain and pleasure, everything, you see. So, is your being contained in that body or this one? So, when you have a dream, do you contain the whole dream or just one body? The whole dream is yours. Where is it? So, how did that consciousness, which can contain the entire universe that we call a dream—you see, quite unlimited in its own play—how did that consciousness become so small that it became contained in one body? Is it true or just a concept? Just a concept that we have. The individualization of consciousness is just motion.

So, to go to the mind expecting clarity is like going into a coal mine expecting not to get dirty. Can't do it. If you go into a coal mine, you'll only get coal. Not get gold, but you're swimming in gold already. It's just a stubborn idea that I must get it from the coal mine. Getting the metaphor? See, as it is, you are free, but you're insisting that my truth must be a product of my mind. That is making you confused and full of struggle. Don't want to get dirty? Don't go into the coal mine. You see, I can't avoid going to the coal mine; it just comes. At least don't pick up the coal and rub it on yourself. I don't want to get it. By the way, charcoal is supposed to be like a new heart thing; everything people are drinking, cleansing face masks, on a side note.

So, if you met somebody like this who's saying, 'I don't want to get dirty,' but is constantly just putting coal on themselves, you see, what would you tell him or her? Stop it. Stop it. But I can't stop. If you can, nobody can force you. If you can't, then nobody can, because you are the one consciousness. I'm not referring to you as an individual; I'm reminding myself as consciousness, for some strange reason—don't ask me why—that it is in my power to not take myself to be any shape. Any attempt to, like, plugging the leaky roof, even if it seemed like you plugged something, it started leaking from somewhere else because the truth is too broad to be contained within the intellect.

So then you see that the 'without understanding' would be... I mean, I want to say, 'Have you understood that?' 'No, I didn't understand that.' That's now what's going back in the mind to say, 'Do I understand it?' Did you see it? So the only thing you know without understanding would be... see, it's inexpressible. Inexpressible. So at best we can try to make some rough translation of it, you see, but it can never be expressed in words. Otherwise, it would be in understanding. You know, how would it be beyond understanding?

Okay, let's take a question. One says, 'Beloved, so has got completely true when he says that therefore attaining purity of mind by constantly thinking that everything that is known is the supreme being and the supreme being is oneself, and therefore by being in the state of complete identity with absolute reality, liberation can be attained here and now.' I have spoken the truth. Let me take this again. 'Therefore attaining purity of mind by constantly thinking that everything that is known is a supreme being and the supreme being is oneself, and thereafter abiding in a state of complete identity with the absolute reality, liberation can be attained here and now.' You see, now if you really look at this statement, you see it is 'here and now.' Here and now, is there a space to do the above? Which is, 'therefore attaining purity of mind by constantly thinking that everything that is known is the supreme being and supreme being is oneself and then abiding in the state of complete identity with absolute reality.' Not possible, like, here and now.

So at best, again, that's exactly what I think—that the sages have given us pointers and ways of interpreting, attempts, in fact, lame attempts to interpret reality in some words so that consciousness can come back to its own source or discover or play this game of recognizing its own source, you see. And that is why more spiritual pointing is constantly contradicting, you see. How can it be here and now if you have to first do all of that stuff? So already it is saying 'constantly think.' Then if you have to constantly think, where is the here and now left? You see, so I'm not saying that this sage is wrong or you're not speaking the truth, okay? But everything that every master says is just a pointer, you see, just a pointer.

So this pointer saying: don't take anything to be separate from you. Don't ever take anything to be separate from you. One being, one supreme reality, one absolute. But the good news is that the end of it, which is liberation, can be attained here and now. No need for any duration, no time has to pass. Just here, you are free. It is independent even of your acceptance or non-acceptance. Because many believe when I say like this, 'You are free,' like, 'When will I actually believe this?' And if you have to believe it, then you are getting yourself in trouble again. You will just become a spiritual... play the role of a spiritual ego. It is not a question of belief; it's a question of insight. What do you know now? Now, just now. Everything that you need to know is already known. There is nothing you can add to this. Empty of conceptual knowledge, the truth is completely apparent.

I was watching a TV show the other day and in that, a beautiful scene was there actually where... no, he was saying that he saw a bird in the desert. And in the desert in the morning there was a frost, you see, and the frost was melting and the bird just drank the water from the frost. Whereas a man would have said, 'How? Why? How can there be frost in the desert?' You see, so this is the human condition. The bird in its simplicity just had the water. Asking 'Why? Why is there frost in the desert?' It's a beautiful story actually. And you hear the lives of the sages and you see the lives of the sages, they are mostly like this. Yesterday I was sharing about Yogiji, that mostly you would get in the car with him and you would ask him... so she would ask him, he would say, 'I don't know.' And the driver would start driving, then he would say, 'Okay, Father wants us to go left. Father wants us to go.' Really much like this bird. Not deciding, not asking why, how, when. Not being dependent on these things. You can still play out that way. They still play out that way in its own naturalness.

So, what should we have for lunch tomorrow? But it doesn't have the psychological gravity to cause you suffering if you hear bitter gourd or something. It's just what it is. So if a patch of grass suddenly appeared in the center of the hall, if you were a hungry cow, you would just eat it. But the human condition is we will ask why, what does it mean, is it so? In satsang we come to that simplicity. I'm saying to you: freedom is right now. Finish. Now, if you leave yourself unharassed with all the 'But what does it mean? Is it true? I am free? Is it finally done? It can't be that simple.' Is it the human condition? That's why many times I have to ask: what do you really want? What does freedom mean for you? And then our ideas of... if we are at least speaking with honesty, then our ideas of some specialness or something changing, something... and what are we after? That which is, which always is. But something should change as a result. As a result of that discomfort. Nobody says, 'I want to live like a cow.' A bird actually sounds a little better. Free as a bird. You say, 'I want freedom.' I say, 'You are free.'

That could be the end of the conversation, you see. But the bird says, 'Is it true?' I say, 'Of course it is true.' 'But I don't feel free.' It has nothing to do with your feeling. Whatever you may be feeling, feeling is contained in your freedom. You are free to experience whatever you are feeling. Then you may say—come to the real problem, you see—you may say that, 'But I thought that freedom was the absence of a certain feeling and the presence of another.' And then I could say that, 'But that doesn't sound like freedom.' If it has to be a certain way, then how is that freedom? Then it is by definition, you see, only that way, only bliss is allowed. How is that freedom?

Yeah, I'll just start shouting a bit. If you had to carry one idea with you into heaven, which idea would you take? God said you can take one idea, which idea would you take? You tell me. That 'I want to go to heaven' is also an idea. But in a way, he's right that any idea that you could take is containing the story of me. Sometimes, you know, carrying this monkey-me in our backpack as we are crossing into the gates of heaven. What is that story about? The story is about right now. It is: do you just want a spiritual version of yourself or you want to be free? You want just an enlightened version of yourself or you want to be free?

So when you ask this question... so when I say, okay, again for freedom, then left the con... first I had a concept of what it would be, but you twisted the question to say that who wanted the freedom and you said, okay, okay, whatever that 'who' was, who I am, who wants this treatment?

Yeah, what is the problem?

I changed the question and I started looking for who is the one that wants freedom, and then some problem has come, which is...

Did you find such a 'who,' such a 'me' that wants freedom?

No, not in the way in which we... which I did of myself as the slowest. So there seems to be definition, it's a world. Something says I have to deny my existence, I mean, and I struggle with that idea of denying my knowledge.

Yes, forget it. Don't assert or deny anything. What is true doesn't have to be asserted and can never be denied. If something needs an assertion to exist, it's not real. And if something can be denied out of existence, it's not real. The mind is constantly asserting our separation, which never happened.

Father, you ask this question like you want the enlightened version of you. Yeah, you actually want to be a different... yeah, actually it is before, and the concept was somebody who is getting enlightened, yes. And then it's recognized that it is all... it's recognized as it's a false idea, yes. Then it's actually there is a quest for freedom, but...

So without the idea of an enlightened one, what is left of the quest for freedom? If you just want what is, what quest can you go on? Somebody walking around desperately... see, what do you want? Just what is. Is it possible? Some thinking is there. It is the habit. This is the habit moment and it differentiates between the normal and the spiritual. Yeah, okay. Some idea of some... what does the idea look like? There's freedom, truths. Yeah, it immediately makes it open as some kind of state or something. It immediately makes it closed. Yes, to be able to define it is to close it. Yeah, that's why the other day also I was saying that being open is not being open. See, if you are being open now, you are not being open. To be more open than being open is beyond what we can understand, but it is already what we are when we are being open or trying to be open.

Some idea of some what is the—what does the idea look like? There's freedom, truths, yeah. It immediately makes it as open as some kind of state or something; it immediately makes it closed. Yes, to be able to define it is to close it. Yeah, that's why the other day also I was saying that being open is not being open. See, if you are being open now, you are not being open. To be more open than being open is beyond what we can understand, but it is already what we are. When we are being open or trying to be open, we're still making a shape about ourselves, even if that shape is imagined to be pure spaciousness or something. Just forget about it. So, thank you all so much for being in satsang.