We Can Let Go of All Thoughts

Yes. Do you want me to share more about that? I just can take a moment and share a little more about that. That question is actually very relevant—and I use to get it a lot more; I haven’t got it for a few years, so I’m glad that somebody’s asked because I am sure this kind of doubt comes, no? ‘But what about this kind of thought or what about something I have to do? ’All of these kinds of questions can come. But let’s really look at it. What is a thought? Thought is what? It’s a set of words or a message which seems to convey or proposes to convey something about what is. Isn’t it? It is making a proposal that this is how something is. And based on that proposal, some times the thoughts can be about what should be, what needs to be done. But the core proposal always is that it’s a conclusion about what is. But if we really look, we will see that what is, even the manifest aspect of what is, is never that tiny that a proposal or a set of words can really define it. So, a thought is a proposal of reality, whereas reality is too broad to be contained in that proposal. Therefore, even the words of Satsang we cannot hold on to. That’s why I keep saying that they are provisional; sometimes I say they are nonsense, sometimes I say throw them away. Because if we end up making those words as true representations of what is, then life will show us that even that is not true. So, what happens, and why I want to say yes, is because you may say, for example, that: ”But if the thought goes that the coconut is green, what’s so wrong with that? Why should I not believe that? The coconut looks green.” Now, the thing with that is that firstly, we cannot really trust our perceptions to that level, but secondly, it usually doesn’t stay at “the coconut is green.” So, if I were to make a distinction and say okay, if it is just a description of pure phenomenal appearance, then those we can take to be real. But why do we need to do that? We have the phenomenal appearance, then, apparent already; we don’t need a thought to confirm that. And secondly, as soon as we say “the coconut is green,“ the follow up is going to be, “Oh, I don’t like green coconut. Oh, I love green coconut.” So, the introduction of the false protagonist, the ego, is very, very quick. So, in our ability to decipher pure perception and say, “Aha! This is white, this is black, this is green”—why do we need to do that? We’re already perceiving it, no? To drink from a glass of water, do we need to know “Oh, this is a glass, this is called glass, this is called water,” all of that? No. Just naturally, just like a child can drink from its mother’s breast; he doesn’t know this is milk, this is what I am supposed to do, it can still function very naturally. And I take so many examples of birds and all of creation, which moves so beautifully. Even right now, millions of functions are functioning in our one body which don’t need conceptual understanding. So, letting go of concepts which cannot truly represent what is, is the letting go of ignorance.

Even this moment or this question that just passed through is a very good example because initially, when you started speaking, there might have been a thought saying, “I am going to say this.” But as you went along, the conversation was happening, the words were coming out of the mouth but you did not need to think about it to speak those words. Just like here in Satsang, I don’t need to think about it to speak these words. They are just unfolding, and I keep saying that just like I keep hearing words coming from that mouth, I am hearing words from this mouth.

Okay. Good, good. This is a very nice question also. The first question was can we let go of all thoughts? Yes. The second question is will I be alright or will it be fine if I am conceptually empty? And every moment that we tried that or had that experience, it’s been completely fine. We notice that life doesn’t need this sort of conceptual intervention. All the functioning which is natural continues to unfold. The Masters, again, are speaking from a conceptually empty place but they seem to say a lot of words. So, communication can happen, the bodily functioning is happening, there is nothing that really stops— except our ability to beat ourself up. [Laughs].

Yes, yes. So, it’s like if we have a habit, which is a particular condition, so our habit is that our hand keeps going up, keeps going up, like that [moving hand up and down], the opposite hand has to come to keep it down [lifts other hand to hold and lower the hand that’s raised]. That is the only point of spiritual instruction. To remain open and empty is not something you have to “do” [makes air quotes] forever specially only if the habit is “Oh, I have to pick something up,” then somebody has to remind you “No, no, remain open and empty, you are fine, you are fine.” Just like this conversation, “You are fine, you’re going to be fine,” and then you try it and you see in the moment you are just fine. Nobody has a problem when they are open and empty. It’s only before and after. [Laughs] It’s only before and after when we can try to put that into some sort of a narrative and try to make it sort of either beneficial or not beneficial for a “me” [makes air quotes]. That is when it can become problematic.

Of course. You must. But maybe it’s a good idea, if there is a living master, just to check with him, because many times the mind wants to shoot the sheep dog, as Guruji says, first.

Yes. It’s good. This is also a very important question. What can happen is that we are in a particular situation and then all the different instructions can keep coming at us. So, one is like “Just let go,” and that can seem like “Okay, I have to be a bit detached from the whole thing.” Then another instruction can come and say, “Look at this, but what is it?” And you’re like “Am I supposed to let go or am I supposed to look at this?” [Laughs] You see? It can seem, again, very confusing, and I have to say in these cases also— like I told the first questioner—that we cannot have a template and say, “Okay, in every situation….” You see? Because there could be something that shows up and this body-mind in the play of Consciousness needs to participate in that [moves hands rapidly]. And in another situation, the body-mind just needs to run away from that situation. So, as long as we are referring to ourself as that body-mind, all that variety of play needs to happen. And as we no longer are associating ourself as that, then we realize that as we are conceptually open and empty, whatever movement needs to happen from the expression, it is happening anyway.