Unless You Pick up a Notion of Something, Suffering Is an Alien Concept - 30th October 2017

So, this Being itself is unlimited once we lose the notion that it is contained within this body. We're starting to find your true Being, and then you will see: Who is aware of this Being? That which is aware of even this Being—for that, although any spatial comparison or metaphor does not really work, we can say that even this Being is just a speck of light compared to the Absolute you, to the eternal you. The dynamic aspect is just an aspect, and yet the dynamic aspect itself can contain the entire universe; it does contain the entire universe. What must you be? What is Shiva?

Now, this Shiva wanted to be entertained. You know, some parts of the play can seem like they're not going to finish. Shiva wanted to be speaking, okay? See if you can recognize the story about yourself. It is not fiction; it is high restriction to the extent that Shiva—even we cannot use the term entity, but that much leeway really—so Shiva wanted to be an entity. Now, this Shiva is all there is, everything. And that 'all there is' is just an aspect of it. Now Shiva said, 'I am all there is. How to play? How to be entertained? If I can see, continue to see that I am all there is, and actually in reality I am much beyond even that, then how can I have some drama into my life?' What would you have to do first? You would have to believe that you are not the unlimited one. As long as you are the unlimited one, no possibility of this kind of play, soap operas, are not possible. So first, we must believe yourself to be something which has a boundary, something which has a limitation.

Now, they are ready for this alone. You are Shiva right now. You are Shiva. You are Shiva. Now, clear? You cannot play without a notion about yourself. You are Shiva now. You cannot have a grievance, you cannot have a regret, you cannot have pride, you cannot have specialness, you cannot have remorse, you cannot have guilt; you cannot have anything that we describe as suffering unless you pick up a notion about yourself. No pain is too much for you, no pleasure gets you attached to it. All is allowed to come and go. It is true. How can I say these things? Because I see this, and we are one, just playing as if we are separated.

Now, Shiva, tell me: without a notion about yourself, what troubles you? Notion-less, like sleep. Do you exist or not? Is your existence here or not? Is your perception functioning normally or not? Sounds are being heard, which gender beings, visuals are being seen. Existence is just effortlessly here with me. No, effortlessly your existence is here, and all that is called the natural functioning of life is functioning now. What do you need a notion for to run your lives? Life is not running in this moment? Is it happening? Heart is beating. If food is needed, food will show up. Try it. But you can't try it with the sense of arrogance; God will make sure it doesn't show up. If you leave it alone, then whatever is needed for God's own sustenance of God has to show up because all is in service to God. But if you try to make it a trick from your individuality, it doesn't work like that. It's not a cheat code.

In this room, you are aware of your existence. This awareness is the Absolute. Is there a person sitting there? Is the one who has to do something sitting there? Is the one that wants something sitting there? That thing is there, except your very existence which contains all things. A few moments of open checking will make this completely apparent to you. If you check without a preconceived notion that 'this is too much, I must be something contained in this body,' but how can the world be within me? If you play with all these concepts, then you can seem to get lost. But ultimately, all these concepts will be discarded in future check. You will find that like the entire dream is contained within you, all this that you're perceiving is also contained within you. All that you used to define as your limit is now being seen as forms.

If you still have a notion about you, then it can seem like a very strange concept. How can everything be here within my body? I'm not saying it is within your body, because your body sensations are also experienced within your Being, within your existence. Where are these words being heard? Where is the sound of the traffic being heard? Same place as the body is being experienced. And you are aware of this. Can any content in this come and make a scratch on this awareness? No matter how strong a fire it is, how sharp or hard it is, can it leave any residue on that which is aware of your existence?

Now, don't try to be that, because if you try to be that, you first invent something which is not that. If you want to try something, try to leave that. Don't be aware. Leave awareness aside. Who can do it? Only this: you cannot leave even your very sense of existence. Being will be left aside and then you're done with its experience of existence. But that which witnesses, the primal witnessing, that does not come and go. But what drama is here? Nothing. I cannot be hurt, I cannot be scratched, I cannot be tainted, I cannot have any attribute about myself. Reality: for any of this, first I must exist. So existence comes, I am. I am playing as 'I am,' and no trouble even now.

If you had no ability to attach any attribute to yourselves—'I am something'—if that was not a possibility, if you could not say 'I am the body,' 'I am my name,' 'I am anything,' and also show me an attribute you could not attach. 'I am something' you could not attach, 'I am nothing' you could not attach. Nothing you can attach. First you must pose as something; you must put on the mask of something, the pretense of something. Only then can trouble seem real. You see? I know I've spoken for one hour already, but just stay with me on this point. You tell me whether you see it or not: unless I pick up the idea 'I am something,' suffering is an alien concept.

This much is seen. This is the main point of Satsang, because in this, the Absolute truth is also apparent. So I just take this. Don't worry about the Absolute; it's not going anywhere. Just notice this much about yourself: that unless I pick up the idea 'I am something,' which is usually the idea 'I am the body' or usually the idea that 'I am the body-mind,' unless I have this premise, this basic notion, no other notion can trouble me. So, 'no money in the bank, no money in the bank'—unless you have a notion that you are this body-mind, can it trouble you? No. 'Partner in life or terrible partner, not good enough'—unless you are the body-mind, can this notion of not finding freedom, not coming to freedom, not finding enlightenment, or even the favorable one which is 'I see it but I can't stay in it, I have to stay in it'—not being able to do that, can they trouble you? Unless you have the notion that you are a body-mind, God is not being able to stay in it? So there must be a limited notion that God is playing with before you can pick up any other notion that seems to be causing any trouble.

That is why this is direct Satsang, when we attack this notion that you are something directly, without getting into whatever the seeming trouble might be, because we know that actually the only trouble is this. So now you have this infection, 'I am something.' What to do? Suppose you have this infection that 'I am something, I am the body-mind.' What to do now? You're unraveling the entirety of spirituality considering that you have this notion. The sages have said: either surrender it or inquire into it. Now, whatever you consider yourself to be, hand it over right now, this moment. Whatever that 'something' might be, just leave it here. It's called surrender. Some are of a devotional temperament, some open that way and say, 'Yes, Satguru.' Some who are not of this temperament, then they can see, you know, 'Nobody is too sticky, I end up leaving it over and over.' Those can do the inquiry: 'I am something. Who is the I that is something? I am not good enough for freedom. Who is the I which is not good enough for freedom?'

If you pop the grenade of this question in your Being and then you leave this question unmolested—unmolested by your expectation, unmolested by what should happen, unmolested by 'are we there yet?'—you will find that it will clean up. This grenade will explode everything that you're holding on to. Then you will find that whether it was the seeming surrender or it was the seeming inquiry, it was just this notion 'I am something' which was dropped away, and just 'I am' remains. Now, if surrender or self-inquiry don't seem to be there, if there is not much resonance happening with that, then some different methods can be prescribed, like mantra, like hatha yoga. Believe me, all these paths can be prescribed, but that's not usually what happens in our system here. The feeling is more shared about this.

So you'll find most of what is in Satsang is surrender, and a lot of it is about inquiry, and a little bit can seem like it is about rules, but actually it is just about removing this notion 'something' and seeing that this Being is completely complete. It is that which is the container of the universe, cannot be contained in it. And ultimately you will see that even this Being is a coming and going. The reality of what I am is even before 'I am.' Nothing has to be done here. As you drop the notion of 'something,' then even this Absolute truth is very apparent. And the best, best, best news is that in this moment, completely fresh, if I don't give you a moment to think about it, you are not something. And when I do give you a moment to think about it, what is usually the mind saying? But that is called, at some point, something moves away from these squeaky levels of the mind and you allow yourself to taste your own magnificent Being.

That is why I tell you and say: don't exchange your magnificent Being for any idea about yourselves, no matter how good it sounds. That is spirituality. Now, with that, you remove that 'something.' You're just bringing all your attention to your breath all the time, which the Buddhists might call mindfulness, or you're chanting a mantra, or you're doing some other practice—it's all about this. Because all the sages, no matter which path they took, they found that the only way for suffering to come is to first pick up the notion that 'I am something.'