True Understanding Is Missing From Our Conclusions

Just don’t conclude. Don’t conclude anything. So, what happens to you when you don’t conclude? Don’t conclude that, look. What happens? When you leave yourself free from this burden of judgment or interpretation, what’s the trouble? What’s the trouble? [Silence] And, on the other side, what is the benefit of judgment? Let’s do the reverse now — judge. [Smiles]

Yeah, what is the benefit of that?

Yes, so, misplaced or…?

[Smiles] What is misplaced confidence called? Arrogance. The base itself, the true understanding is missing from our conclusions because we take our self to be something very different from our true nature. This ‘me’, this non-existent limited one — we restrict our self to that perspective. Basically, it’s just a perspective in our conclusions. So, this very popular idea that my interpretations, my judgments, my notions are helping ‘me’ in some way has to really be looked at. And what is the best way to look? It is to look at this ‘me’ itself: Who is this ‘me’ who is being helped? Because this disease continues in Satsang also. This ‘me’ wanting to be helped, instead of seen through, can continue even in our spirituality. Nobody like that is there. [Silence] Have you heard the term ‘con job’? What is the full form of con? It’s confidence, yeah? [Smiles] It is confidence… so this non-existent ‘me’ can confidently assert its existence. But it’s a con job — there is no such entity. [Smiles] And this lens — it’s just like the contact lens — you just take it off. Because trying to fit your life into this lens of this limited perspective is what is called suffering. And we have involved all our relationships, all our aspects of worldly existence, and our Master, and God in this same old thing, in the same old thing, same old paradigms — this is what I must do for them, this is what they must do for me. Same old business. So, look beyond this limited lens and you will see the frivolousness of this play. [Smiles] You have never gotten anything. You have never given anything. All these are just ideas like children playing doctor-doctor or something — I’ll be the doctor, you be the patient. [Laughs] This kind of idea. And then we are projecting all of this as we are seemingly growing up also. [Smiles] But, empty of this limited idea of yourself, what is there? If you don’t apply the lens of this ‘me’ wanting something, putting something aside, judging things, knowing what is right and wrong, what is there? Are you free now? No, of course not. Because that is seen through that one who could be bound or free. So, these terms don’t apply to you. [Silence] So, all that we think we know forms the basis of our arrogance or misplaced confidence. Now, upon hearing this, don’t know new things. Like ‘I’ve been so misguided, so silly; really, what do I really know?’ [Smiles] Because it’s just attempts to grasp on to something, no? It’s just attempts to ‘Okay, now I see I don’t actually know anything, you know that?’ [Laughs] So, let yourself be without this ground, without any branch to hang from. This is to be empty of the ‘I’ thought. All of us have read Bhagwan [Sri Ramana Maharshi]. All of us at some level have read Bhagwan [Sri Ramana Maharshi] and we have all read (that) you must be empty of the ‘I’ thought. And upon reading that we are just ‘Yes, that is the final! I will do it!’ [Sangha laughs] But what is it? It is super simple — just don’t refer to ‘I’ with any reference, at least seriously. Let me put it another way: Don’t take any reference to the ‘I’ seriously.