Just Rely On What You Are Seeing

(Reading from the chat) ‘Father it feels like I’m inside the cloud of hopelessness in my mind, how do I see more clearly and be free.’ Yes, so this feeling or this idea, upon investigation it will fall. You say, it feels like I’m caught in this cloud of hopelessness of the mind, but we come to a point where we are not willing anymore to buy into just these ideas of ‘what it feels like’, we only take it to be Truth if we see it that way, is there a you which is caught in this cloud? Is there any evidence of such a you except a voice telling you that this is how it is. And if you are caught up in the cloud then who is watching that? Is that in the cloud? And if that is not in the cloud then are there two of you? This reminds me of this child (points to a sangha member) one day she told me that, (something I don’t remember what we were talking about but she said) ‘Father you left me hanging, you left me hanging’ she said. I found that very perceptive actually, because a perceptive inquiry can flow from there. So the one that is left hanging is which one? Because we say that our trouble is that we identify with the body, but in this case that was not the case because the body was comfortably sitting on the couch, so body was not hanging, the Being hopefully was not hanging, the Witnessing of all of this has nowhere to hang, so which is the none that is left hanging? You see, the same one that feels that it is stuck in the cloud of hopelessness. Which is that one? It is not even our body identification because the body is not stuck in some cloud, so which is that one? And as long as we are willing to buy into the idea of this one, then this one will always have a roller coaster ride anyway, ups and downs are a part of this, this one’s journey. So maybe it is more auspicious when the downs are there because it is usually, not always, but usually in the downs that we are willing to investigate more, in the ups we are quite alright. So maybe this cloud of hopelessness is not bad news. When we are in the cloud of just happiness or bliss, we may not even come to satsang. These are too many inferences but usually is it seen like that. (Reading from the chat) ‘How do I see more clearly and be free? Just try to start seeing a little bit, just rely on what you are seeing, a little bit. You don’t have to force it too much, just a little bit and then you will see that there is no such one who is stuck anywhere. This is the point where the ego resists, the mind resists very much, it does not want you to see it just wants you to believe that ‘You are stuck, it is true, and I don’t want to hear anything against that. I am stuck and tell me what to do’ (thumps his fist on the couch). ‘But are you really’? [Ananta] ‘No, no, I knew you will say that! I am stuck, now tell me what I should do’ [Mind] It is the same classical example of ‘Please treat me as the non-existent cat and tell me how to become the free cat’. And I say, ‘You want to look in the mirror and see there is no cat’ and you will say, ‘No, no, I’m quite certain’ and many of you will actually also say, ‘Yes, I’m quite certain I’m not the cat but right now I feel like I’m the cat, so please tell me what to do as the cat.’ This is the trouble that the seeker has (the spiritual seeker has) more than the rest of the world. We have this ‘Yeah, I know I’m not the cat, I’m the pure Self untouched by everything, and yet right now please treat me like I’m a cat, [Chuckles] please participate in my delusion if you’re really my friend’. And you’ll be surprised how many times I get that invitation, ‘Father if you really love me then you will participate in my delusion with me otherwise you don’t really love me’. So that is not the kind of love that I have for you.