Can You

Stop Being?

Ananta

2015 Sangha of Being

Table of Contents

1. About Ananta

2. Preface

3. Core Aspects of What We Speak About Here

4. Chapter 1 What is Enlightenment?

5. Chapter 2 Who Is Witnessing?

6. Chapter 3 Beautiful Neutrality

7. Chapter 4 Master Key

8. Chapter 5 It's All About You-as-Presence

9. Chapter 6 It Is All Grace

About Ananta

Ananta gives satsang with the blessings of his Master, Mooji. He lives in Bangalore, India with his wife and son and daughter. He offers in-person satsangs twice monthly in Bangalore and occasionally in Pune, India.

On-line satsangs on Youtube with Google Hangout and Youtube chat participation are offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11 am and Tuesday and Thursday at 4:30 pm Bangalore, India time.

Links

Satsang with Ananta Youtube channel and satsang link is:

www.youtube.com/channel/UCmc83jyrwpCNBT2xywXVoLg/feed

Website:

www.anantasatsang.org

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/satsangwithananta

This book is a distillation of full satsangs between Ananta and the sangha or guests who came to ask questions and be in his Presence.

All “in quotes” are shorted questions from those attending.

Preface

SELF-INQUIRY

When we say ‘Self Inquiry’ what is it that we are really saying? What is the inquiry really about? What is it that we want to find out?

Ultimately, what we are looking for is an answer to the root question. We start off by looking for an answer to the root question which is ‘Who am I?’ We can say ‘Who am I?’ or even we can say ‘What am I?’ So, the inquiry starts off with this simple question. It is greatly auspicious, in this play, when there is openness towards the simple question ‘Who am I?’ There must already be some seeing, isn't there? There must be some seeing that ‘I cannot be this person’. Only then can there be an openness to this question.

If there is total conviction in the belief of being an ego, total conviction in the belief of being a ‘person', then the question will face so much resistance. And because this question faces so much resistance, it is good to have a Master who you have faith in, who you trust, who you love. Because if the question is asked by somebody that you trust, that you love, then this trust and this love will help in overcoming the resistance coming from your own mind.

The Inquiry is just a simple questioning about our true nature: What am I in reality?

Initially there seems to be a process prescribed as to how this inquiry can be done, and this aligns very well with the ancient Indian process called ‘Neti-Neti’ which means ‘Not that-Not that’. Basically what we are saying is that whatever is clearly not me we are keeping aside. We say ‘This world which is appearing through my senses, this world of objects and phenomena, is ever changing, but I am here witnessing this change. I am the constant in this, but this world is ever-changing. Therefore, I cannot be this’. We say ‘Not that’.

In one swoop we have thrown out all the phenomenal existence of the world saying ‘I am not that’. Then we turn inward and we see ‘What else could I be?’

‘What else could I be if I am not an object in the world?'

Also, when we look at the body, we see that ‘I cannot be just the sum of what I seem to have eaten. I cannot be just made up of the food that has been consumed. There is something more to me than that. This body is also constantly changing and I am the witness of this change also. This body is changing all the time, but I am looking at this and I don't seem to be changing. Therefore, I cannot be this body’. So we say ‘Not the world and not the body also’ which is part of the appearance.

‘Then, what else can I be?’

'Can I be the thoughts? A thought would come and a thought could go. It is constantly coming and going. It is coming and it is going and there seems to be a witnessing of these thoughts. I seem to be the witness of these thoughts. I don't seem to be the content of it. Therefore even this thought, I am not. The mind appears to be only a bundle of these thoughts. These thoughts: including thoughts of past which is called memory, thoughts like imagination; all these are also witnessed by me, but I don't seem to be any of them. So I am not that also. Then, who am I? I am not the world. I am not the body. I am not the thoughts’.

'Then, who am I?'

'What else is there? Can I be my emotions? One minute there is anger, another minute there is joy, another time there is frustration, and another time there is peace. I am aware of all of this and I seem to be the witness of these. It does not seem like I am any of these changing emotions also. Therefore, I am not that. Then, who am I? Not these emotions also’.

'Then, who am I?'

Then I see that, prior to all of this, there appears to be the sense that I Am. Only when I Am, all these other phenomena come into play. It seems like I AmBeing. That there is a Being here. This Being seems to have a beautiful Presence, a pure innocence unassociated with any other concept; just the pure Beingness itself, just the sense that ‘I Am’.

It is not the thought ‘I am’. Many of us mistake the sense ‘I Am’ to be the thought ‘I am’. This Being is prior to thought.

The simplest way to become aware of this Being is to ask: ‘Can I stop being now?'

‘There can be a time when there is no thought, but I am still being. Isn't it? I am still Being’.

This Being is ever-present. In the waking states and the dream state, this Being is always present.

But even then we ask: ‘Is there is something which is aware of even this pure Being?’

There is awareness of this pure Consciousness itself. Isn't it? Even this Consciousness seems to come and go. When I am asleep, then even this presence 'I Am' is not there. But I am aware of its presence and of its absence also. I am able to report that in deep sleep, it was not there. So, I am not even this Consciousness.

'Then, who am I?'

What seems to be left now is only the pure Witnessing of all of this. There is a witnessing of all of this. It is the Witnessing itself which is witnessing itself.

Therefore in the simple question ‘Are you aware now?’ we see that Awareness is aware of itself.

This Awareness seems to be all there is: the unmoving, untouched witnessing to all that exists.

'I am this which no words can accurately describe’.

This simple seeing is the fruit of the Self Inquiry.

Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

So, we see that the inquiry starts off with a question, but if all that you have at the end of the inquiry is a verbal answer, then that smart answer is not the end of the inquiry.

It is just the simple seeing that:

I am this pure Witnessing itself.

I am this pure Awareness itself.

In this simple seeing there is no room left for a personal identity.

No ‘person’ can exist here at all.

~ Ananta

Core Aspects of What We Speak About Here

Let me share some core aspects of what we speak about here. When I come into satsang, there are usually three different questions that come.

The first question, the most common question that comes is: ‘I want to be free from my suffering. How do I put an end to my suffering?’ That is the first, most basic question that most Beings who come to satang can have. And to be free from suffering is the simplest thing. We can look at it in some detail.

You cannot suffer without believing a thought. So when a thought arises, you’ll see that a thought just arises. You can wait for your next thought to confirm this; and you’ll see that thought is just arising. And when a thought arises, you will see that there are two forces that interact with this thought.

The first is the force of your attention; is the power of attention. This attention, when it goes to the thought, then the thought seems like it is real. If it [attention] doesn't go to the thought, then the thought just comes and goes.

Therefore most sadhanas in the world are focused on controlling this attention. So, when [Nisargadatta] Maharaj said ‘Stay. Give your attention only to the sense I Am’ he was referring to keeping the attention, giving an anchor to the attention, in the Presence. ‘Keep the attention in the Presence’. All sadhanas, whether you look at mindfulness, meditation, all these practices, most of them are focused on keeping your attention at a particular place, trying to give you some mastery over your attention.

But if you were to look, you would find that just because of giving attention, also you cannot suffer. It also needs another force, another power, called ‘the power of belief’. Even if attention goes to the thought, unless it gets your belief, it causes no suffering.

So, what I suggest is: Just withdraw your belief from your next thought.

Belief seems like it is much more simple to handle than attention is, because the more you try to control attention, the more it wants to jump around.

So, if I say ‘Don't bring your attention to a monkey’ then very quickly [the thought of] a monkey will appear. So attention is not that easy to control. But if I say ‘Don't believe that you are a monkey’ that is much easier.

So, let attention also go to thoughts if you want, let attention go completely free; just don't give belief to your next thought.

And in this not giving belief to your next thought, you cannot show me suffering. Unless you believe some other thought like ‘Belief is going automatically’ or some other thought like this, you cannot show me suffering.

In this, you will find so much space and the ability to contemplate into your True nature.

When we are just constantly attracted to our thoughts and our attention and belief, and just consumed by thought, then there is no room for further contemplation. So, first, some amount of freedom is gotten from these thoughts. These thoughts don't seem so powerful now after you’ve withdrawn your belief from them. They get their power from your own attention and belief.

So, this was the first question: ‘How can I end my suffering?’ The end of your suffering is just not believing your next thought.

Then, you say: ‘Yes. I have lost my ability to suffer. All thoughts are just coming and going. I'm not resisting anything at all. So, I have lost my ability to suffer, but can you show me God?’

‘Can you show me God?’ And my response to that question is: ‘Yes’.

I ask you: Can you stop being now?

And in looking at this question ‘Can I stop being now?’ you will find that the Presence of Being is here. It cannot be stopped.

That's why this short cut is here. If I were to say ‘Go and find your Being’ then you will say that ‘Oh, it gets confused. It feels like this and feels like that’.

But when I say ‘Can you stop being now? Can you turn it off?’ then you say ‘No. This Presence is here. You cannot turn it off. This Presence that I am, that I exist, is here’.

So, this Presence is Consciousness, is God, is Beingness, in the light of which this entire Universe comes into play. Your own holy Presence, your own Atma, is Consciousness.

Then, lastly, someone might come and say: ‘Can you tell me about the Absolute, the Self?’

And don't worry so much about the definitions. If your definition of God is the Absolute Self, that is absolutely fine. Don't worry; it's not about the definitions.

Someone could come and say: ‘Can you show me the Absolute Self, the Absolute Truth?’

And for this, we have this question: ‘Are you aware now?’

And you see that you are aware, and yet no phenomenal experience was required; not even the Presence of Being. And to be able to confirm that awareness is here, it was the Awareness itself that checks.

So, this is Awareness being aware of Itself.

Awareness being aware of Awareness.

These are the main three questions that any spiritual seeker could have. And then, another simple pointing for you is that there are two A’s.

There’s the big ‘A’…………Awareness.

And there's the small ‘a’……… appearance.

All that is appearing phenomenally we call the appearance; the thoughts, emotions, the body, another person, the external world, the stars in the sky, the sun and the moon: everything is appearing to This Awareness.

And in the absence, if this Awareness was not there, then you would not be able to have any appearances show up.

So, this Awareness is ever-present. It is the Eternal One, the Unmoving, Unchanging One; which is aware of something and of nothing; of appearance and of no appearance. Something and nothing; thought and no-thought; of mind and no-mind; of waking and of sleep.

This Awareness You Are.

But anytime you give your belief to something which says ‘You are just an appearance’ then you are picking up this ‘pretend’ suffering.

So, that is the core of the teaching, the core of what is being pointed to.

[Silence]

~Ananta

Chapter 1

What is Enlightenment?

WITNESSING

Freedom is already here. Freedom is already here. The Self is already here. Liberation is already here. God is already here. When we stay here, there can be no problem actually. We only pretend to create the problem by giving our imagination too much belief. Whatever might be the event of life, whatever might be the occurrence that seems to be appearing, you're only the witnessing of it. You are not even the witness of it. You're only the witnessing of it.

There is no witness entity even actually. Even to say that you are ‘the witness’ would not be very accurate. Because ‘witness’ would imply that there is a thing which witnessing belongs to; that there is an entity to which the pure Seeing reports to. But there is no such thing or entity. You are not an object. So the joke is how this pure witnessing, pure Awareness started confusing itself to be this body-mind organism.

We say: ‘Be a witness to all this appearance, whether in the external world or in the internal world’. Be a witness to all that is appearing in the external world which is seemingly perceived through our senses, and in this internal world, the world of thoughts, the world of imagination, memory, emotion. This internal world is also perceived. It's good to start off saying that ‘I am the witness’. Then once this stabilizes a little bit, then we can even ask the question: ‘Is there the witness entity there? Is there a witness thing there? Is there an object who is a witness?’ And you will find that there is no such object. Only the witnessing alone is here.

So you were never a noun actually. You were a verb. The mind cannot fathom this. This the mind cannot fathom because it is used to relating you to be an object. Suddenly you say that you are not a ‘thing’ but you're just a pure witnessing, like a verb. Not even to call it an energy would be accurate, because it is not phenomenal at all. You're just the pure Awareness itself, the eternal witnessing to all that appears and disappears.

All that happens in our life, this witnessing is untouched by it. If you were to look with an open mind, just for a minute, you would see that ‘I am this Awareness itself’. There is no effort needed. No spiritual journey is required. No practice also is required. Because this is the Truth. The Truth does not need effort to become true. Only the false needs to work hard to sustain itself. Only a false idea needs to be constantly nourished by our thoughts and our beliefs, to be sustained. What you truly are is beyond all thought.

This is only meant to be a simple, simple seeing of What-I-Truly-Am, without relying on any knowledge, any concepts, any words. Just let go of all the fear. We are only the Untouched One. We are untouched by any phenomena. The appearance cannot harm us in any way. Only our illusions can be attacked. And it is pure Grace if it is attacked, because with that suffering, these illusions are let go of.

So, a very simple pointing. Although the pointing is very simple, I would say it is not a trivial instruction. Sometimes what the mind does, if it sees that something is too simple, it says that it is trivial. ‘It cannot be useful because it is so simple’. That's the mind's interpretation, isn't it? But in this simple instruction lies the end of all suffering. The end of all suffering. And this is what all of us want, isn't it? The great Sages, the Buddha himself, wanted the end of suffering. All his sadhana, all his exploration, was about how to come to the end of suffering. And all the Sages came to this same conclusion.

The conclusion they came to is that the problem or the suffering does not lie in the world, or in the appearances which are appearing. The problem only lies in the belief, in the interpreter; belief in the thoughts about the world, belief in the thoughts about the appearance. This is the only cause of suffering. So first let's be completely clear about this. We cannot suffer without belief in a thought. Therefore drop the idea that the world is making us suffer or our relationships are making us suffer or our bodies are making us suffer. The world is completely innocent. Our bodies are completely innocent. The only thing that makes us suffer, seemingly suffer, is our belief in our thoughts.

Then the simple instruction is: ‘Let go of your next thought’. We don't even say ‘Let go of All your thoughts’ because that seems too intimidating sometimes, isn't it? [With serious voice]: ‘So now I must become very serious. Now I must refuse All thoughts’. So we made it even simpler. We said: ‘In the moment, just let go of your next thought’. What does ‘Let go’ mean? Let go does not mean that ‘Don't let thoughts come’. That seems like a very effortful practice and only very accomplished Yogis can achieve such a feat, if at all. It only means ‘Let the thought come unresisted, but you do not engage with it’.

Your attention might also go to it because that is the nature of attention. But even if your attention goes to it, it is all right. You will find that, just only with attention, the thought does not have the potential to make you suffer. It is only when we give this thought our belief. We say that this is ‘my’ thought. It has meaning for ‘me’. And the instant we assign it some meaning then we are caught in the potential for suffering. Because a thought means it is something needy. It is something attacking or defending. It is something which is referring to you as an individual person who never existed actually. This person never existed actually. It is only a figment of our imagination. It is only a conjured up creation as a result of belief in thoughts itself.

So to let go means to divest it from our belief. Divest it of our belief and it's allowed to just go. So like a cloud in the sky, it is allowed to come and go. The sky is unconcerned whether the cloud is white, grey; whether it's going to rain or not. Is the sky concerned? So you are the vast space in which these clouds are appearing. You stay unconcerned with how these clouds are, and let them go. So without belief in the thought then show me how you can suffer. You will find that it is impossible to suffer.

That is why we say that the simplest way to come to the end of suffering is to let go of your next thought. In fact it is the only way. All paths only seem to be a preparation to come to this point of letting go of our next thought. There is no path, no true path, which can say that ‘You continue to believe your thoughts and suffering will stop’. No path can say this because belief in the false identity equals suffering. So if you want to be free from suffering, it's very, very simple; just let go of your next thought.

No matter what came, (some thoughts came, some emotions came, some heaviness came), you were just the untouched witnessing of all of this, isn't it? So don't say that this should not happen and that should not come. Between these ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’ are the true distraction actually; we are setting conditions for our freedom. We are saying freedom means some states should not come and only some states are allowed to come. It is not true.

Freedom means freedom for all states to come, but you are resting unconcerned by any state. That is true freedom. Freedom does not mean that we are fearful of some states. Then that would be a very shaky freedom, isn't it? It would be freedom only as long as some states are lasting.

So the power that has been given to you now, the power of your own Seeing, is that any state can emerge but you are unconcerned. There is truly, truly no fear here about any state arising. All states are welcome. And you will see this to be true about yourself. There is no fear here about any state arising; it could be the most angry state or the most depressed state. Any state is welcome to arise. But I will only be the witnessing of it. Nothing can make me the person who is fighting with such a state. I can only imagine myself to be that. But here, the imagining has stopped.

Whatever can end is not real anyway, isn't it? Peace, joy, love, are in service to my true Self. They are in service to Me. But once we pick up the idea of being a person and decide to chase this happiness, this same happiness, this very joy, this peace which is here now, this one seems so elusive, isn't it? Wearing a person's clothes, all of this runs from us. In the naked reality of our true Self, all of this is in service to Us. Love is in service to Me; I am not in service to love.

WHAT IS WITNESSING REALLY?

“Please say something about witnessing. Witness what? Is it a doing? Or is it just witness witnessing?”

[Laughs] That's the trouble, isn't it? Because you cannot say anything about this one. At best you can point to it. All words spoken about it are not precise. They are not true, they are at best a pointing to it. So to say ‘Awareness’ or to say ‘a pure Seeing’ or ‘a pure Witnessing’ are the words which come close in the form of a pointing. But to find it for yourself rather than to explain it in words is the real thing.

We can ask a very simple question: ‘Are you aware now?’ I want to give you a taste of your own true Self rather than keep explaining the taste to you. I can keep talking about a great chocolate which I had. I can either keep describing what it was like or say ‘Here, why don't you have it? It's available right here’. You would prefer to try it, isn't it? What is the way to try it? Just the simple question: Am I aware now? You will see that it is Awareness itself which knows about awareness. This Awareness knowing awareness. Awareness being aware of awareness.

If this question ‘Am I aware now?’ takes a hold in your heart, then you will see that the one who is aware now is not a person, is not an idea, is not an imagined entity. It is Awareness itself which is aware. It is not a body which is aware. It is not our senses which are aware. ‘Am I aware now?’ What knows this?

AM I AWARE NOW?

The simplest questions seem to have the most important answers. What are the simplest questions we can ask? Maybe one of the simplest questions that any Being can ask is ‘Who am I?’

Who am I? This question, in the most logical sense, should have been the basis of our understanding. Looking at it very objectively, it is very clear that first we must understand who we are. Before we would like to understand anything else, first this self-understanding must be there. But somehow, in this upside-down world, this question seems to have become like the final frontier, where only the ‘most accomplished seekers’ seem to be engaged with this question. But isn't that completely upside-down? [Laughs] How can it be that so many Beings just go through entire lifetimes after lifetimes without ever really questioning ‘Who am I?’

Why does it happen like this? It happens only because there is a hypnosis of the mind. The hypnosis of the mind resists this question with all its might. All kinds of resistance will come which will say all kinds of nonsense. It will say ‘What will I get? First tell me what will I get if I were to ask this question?’ It will say ‘Nobody can find this answer’. Without even looking, it will use some half-knowledge, half-baked knowledge to resist the question. Because in this question ‘Who am I?’ itself is the entire unraveling of this delusion; of this delusion of separation, of the delusion of ego, of the delusion that ‘I am a separate entity, a separate person’. In this one simple question, the entire delusion can be dissolved. Yet, we are constantly catering to an ‘I’. We are constantly catering to an ‘I’ but we never want to ask ‘Who am I?’ All that we do is for ‘me’. The ego’s mantra is ‘What’s in it for me?’ All that we do is for ‘me’ yet we never want to find out ‘Who is this me?’

The question is ‘Who am I?’

“The question is answered by the hypnotized mind which has some knowledge of truth. It says ‘I am That’. But that is just intellectual. How to go further than that?”

We asked the question, and the mind immediately comes up with a response. If the response is not pure resistance to stop the questioning, then it is based on some half-baked concept. And it doesn't help to say ‘I am That’. It doesn't help to say ‘I am God’ because it is only replacing one concept that ‘I am a person’ with another imagined concept that ‘I am God’.

That is why it is not the answer which is important, but the looking that happens when the question is asked. And very quickly it is seen that ‘I cannot be the perceived world, including the body. I cannot be the body because the body is only made up of the food that I have consumed. Also very few problems which I seem to have in my life really pertain to the body. They seem to be problems of relationships, problems of money. The body is unconcerned with relationships and unconcerned with money’.

I say that ‘I am not the world, I am not the body, what else can I be? Can I be these thoughts which are arising and disappearing; here for one instant, not here the next? Can I be my imagination, which also comes in this way, comes and goes? Can I be my memories which are so unreliable?’ Beings will remember most situations differently; they are so unreliable. ‘Can I be my emotions which arise and they fade; one minute happiness, second minute sadness, with no predictability?’

Who is the witness to all of these? Who witnesses the world, who witnesses the body, who witnesses the thoughts, who witnesses the emotions? There is an ever-present seeing, isn't there? There is a seeing of all of this.

What distance is there between you and this seeing? Even if you feel you know the answer already, just look again. There is a seeing of the entire phenomenal universe, external or internal. What distance is there between you and this seeing?

Does this seeing come and go? We are not speaking of what is seen, we are not speaking of the content of what is seen. We are not speaking of objects. But there is a witnessing, there is a perceiving of all objects. Does this perceiving come and go?

“We do not ask because we assume that we know who is this ‘I’, me.”

The mind presumes an answer, and where there is a slight inclination to ask, to look, then it comes up with a ‘canned response’. It can even say something really glorious, it can say ‘You are Consciousness, You are God’ or a very popular one ‘You are the soul’ but it is still coming from a ‘person’ pretending to be any of these things.

REACTIONS OF OTHERS

Now if we have stopped believing the content of our own mind, then why must we believe the content of another mind? As simple as it sounds, this seems to be a challenge for some who come to satsang, that ‘It's easy now to let go of all our ideas and concepts and beliefs, but with the relationships that are around us, we seem to have trouble letting go of their ideas’. So that still seems to have some juice for us.

Know that it is ‘the same guy’. As my Master says, ‘It is the same guy’. It is the ego itself. So just like our thoughts have been let go of, don't give juice to any thoughts which the seeming-others seem to have. It's exactly the same ego.

THE ‘PRACTICAL’ WORLD

“If try to defuse the ego, will it be highly difficult to operate in the practical world? I do understand that the ego is definitely a delusion, but this temporary external world appearing in our minds is also a creation of God.”

With the birth of Beingness rises the sense ‘I Am’. After that there is the birth of the phenomenal universe which seems to be perceived. We won't even debate whether this universe is real or not. For now, just presume that it is real. So this table is real, this computer is real, all appearances are real. I have no problem with this approach also. All is real. The body is real; all this, suppose it is all real. Now show me: where is the person? Where is the ego? Is the ego the body? No. Because the body is not concerned with freedom. The body is not concerned with doing, and action. The body is not concerned with any transaction, isn't it?

The person idea or the ego is unreal. It is only a result of our imagination. All that we believed about ourselves 5 years ago is different today; or 10 years ago is different today. We believed that ‘I am this kind of person’. Now we believe that ‘I am another kind of person’. So if the person is so changeable then it is clearly seen that it is only made up of ideas. It has no real existence at all. It is just a bunch of different concepts that we have imagined into existence. The person exists only in our imagination.

Where is this person which wants to do something, which wants to accomplish something, wants to fulfill its responsibilities, wants to be successful in the world? It wants to maintain its respect, it wants so many things. But who is this one? Can you first find this one, before catering to all its requirements? Before running on the treadmill, can you first find out where are you going? Who wants to be respected? Who wants to insure that actions are happening? Whose responsibilities are these? If you look openly with an open mind, you will come to the conclusion that this one never, ever existed at all; is pure delusion. That is why we say it is the hypnosis of the mind.

“My point is this Self-realization requires developing a different competency, while the world demands a different competency to manage a country or manage a business.”

To realize the Self is possible right now! I am not giving you a practice, I am not giving you any skills to develop, nothing to be learned. All I'm saying is, for one instant, don't follow your mind, and see what exists here, right now.

We’ve made it even simpler for you. We’ve made it even simpler with these the question: Can you stop being now? What will you do to stop being?

This Being is ever-present, isn't it? The mind will not understand this. Don't struggle, don't work hard. The words are finding their place automatically. Can you stop being now? This Being is God, this Being is Consciousness, this Being is ‘I Am’. There is nowhere you need to go, no competency to be developed, no skills required; no use of the mind is needed. The mind is just a bundle of thoughts and similar energies. They cannot help you now. Can you stop being now? What is this Being?

“I cannot stop Being now. But it is a silent watch. It may give peace, but how to meet the demands of duty? We are driven in the world despite ourselves.”

All these are just ideas and thoughts. You see that the person never existed, does not exist here. So then who has been doing all this work anyway? This is only a play of Consciousness. God Himself is doing and God Himself is experiencing, and God Himself is pretending to be a person and complaining about all of this. God Itself is pretending to do this satsang to convince itself that you are not this person. This is the game that we seem to be playing.

So, in the game, my job is to tell you to let go of all thoughts, let go of your next thought. Not even all thoughts; just let go of your next thought. Very simple. Come to your true realization of Yourself. Then all these juicy thoughts of responsibilities, actions, something to be done, ‘I am doing, I must do this’ will be seen as not true. All is happening by itself. So no ‘doing’ or ‘non-doing’. Both are ‘doing’ actually. The decision to ‘do’ or the decision to ‘not do’ are the same; which presumes that you are the doer. Just be in the state of pure neutrality, and you will see that automatically all has been happening. All has always been happening through the force of Consciousness itself.

“But I find high conflict with the practical, to be honest.”

There is no practical. This is practical. Only the mind creates a difference. It will say ‘Oh, but in the real world I still need to be like this’. This is the real world. We are not talking about something unreal.

This is one of the strongest tricks of the mind. Don't let it work on you. It says ‘Oh, in satsang there is all peace, in your Presence all is fine, but when I go to the real world…’ That is not the real world. Why do you presume that that is practical, that is more real? What is unreal about this? We are talking about what is here right now. Is that more real, or is the practical world more real? We are talking about what is present. That must be more tangible, more practical than when we are leading the life of an imagined person.

So if you are looking for freedom for the imagined person, that will not be found here. I have no shyness in saying this. If you are looking for freedom for the imagined one, freedom for the mind, that will not be found here. What will be found here is freedom from the idea, from the false idea of ego, from the false idea of being a person. It will be freedom from the mind not freedom for the mind. The mind is saying ‘I want freedom’. This freedom is not for the mind, it is from the mind; because you are not your mind. Just see this. And then you will see what is real, what is practical, and what is unreal.

Everyone must find out who they are before they can do anything else. Isn't that completely practical? Why run around doing so much without knowing who you are? First find out who you are, then you can say that ‘I am doing all of this’. That, for me, sounds like the most practical question actually.

ARE YOU A ‘WITNESS’ ENTITY OR JUST PURE WITNESSING?

“It is clearly sensed. The seer never comes, never goes, and I am that. But there is still a person here. It is sensed as an energy contraction. Please help me melt that.”

Let’s examine the first part of your statement. It says that ‘the seer is ever- present’ but we did not say that, actually. We said that the ‘seeing’ is ever-present. There is an important difference in these two words. The ‘seer’ presumes the presence of an entity which owns the seeing. You're still referring to yourself as a thing. The ‘seer’ is an entity. It sounds like a thing. Then simply, we can ask ‘What does this seer look like? What are the attributes of this seer? Where does he live?’ Can you tell me just one attribute of this seer? But without the evidence of even one attribute, don't believe that it exists. At least one attribute we must be able to say for our belief in something to exist; at least something we must know about it. Can you tell me one thing about this ‘seer’ entity?

Why this is so important to see is that the ‘person’ entity might be still be getting some juice from the belief in the ‘seer’ entity. And once it is seen that there is never an entity here at all, all is just pure seeing, pure witnessing, Awareness itself, then even if a very heavy idea of personhood is here, it is only like a dark cloud in the sky. The sky is untouched by whether the cloud is dark, or it's very light. In what way is the witnessing touched by the heaviness of personhood or the lightness of Being also?

This contemplation will melt the person idea; because it will not matter. Once it no longer matters, then you will find that no nourishment is going to it and it just dissolves with no expectations.

THE DEEP SLEEP STATE

“In deep sleep, who is reporting there was deep sleep?”

Witnessing is ever-present even in the deep sleep state. Awareness does not sleep. Awareness experiences even sleep, that the body was very tired; it went to sleep. Not even sense of ‘I Am’ would be there. Then when the waking up would happen, the sense of ‘I Am’ would wake up, the world would wake up. All this would be here, and the realization that I experienced some sleep. Who was witnessing even sleep? The same Awareness which witnesses the waking state is the witnessing of sleep also.

THOUGHTS ABOUT DEATH WHICH COME FROM IDENTIFICATION WITH THE BODY

In any state, there is nothing special about this body. In one night you could have a million dreams with a million different bodies; each could seem like a full lifetime. When you go to sleep at night you could have a million dreams with a million lifetimes with a million different bodies, but it is the same Being which seems to animate those entire universes; the same Being which seems to animate this universe. What is the difference between the sense ‘I Am’ in a dream, and this sense ‘I Am’ in this waking state? From this Awareness itself, from the pure witnessing itself it comes. All there is this witnessing, this Awareness. Body or no body will also be witnessed by this Awareness. Sleep or no sleep, dream or waking; all there is, is the eternal witnessing of all of this. That is the timeless One. From within this pure witnessing itself arises this Beingness. So from the pure seeing arises the pure Being, and then all the play can start.

What you can say in the waking state or the dream state is that this Being cannot be stopped. The ultimate question, which shows you your own absolute true nature, is the simplest question: ‘Am I aware now? Am I aware now?’ This is Awareness being aware of Awareness itself.

BODY PAIN AND SICKNESS

Total acceptance means not even a resistance to the pain which is arising. That is total acceptance. And we cannot fake it. We cannot use it as a band aid. So when all resistance is dropped and there is openness to everything, then quickly, quickly it is seen that everything is dissolved. But if we do it as a band aid, or with the sense of expectation that it should get dissolved, then it can persist. Because actually that is not openness, it is resistance. We don't want something, therefore we are saying we want it to dissolve. Rather than that, just be ever-open to all that is appearing, with no fear in your heart. We trust in the Guru. Just be ever-open to all that is appearing.

THE PRESENCE IS EVER-PRESENT

“Ananta, your presence is felt across the world. Thank you so much. This Presence, this love, is actually melting a lot of energy contractions.”

Time and space are born from within this Presence itself. So no space is too much for this Presence. You could be sitting on Jupiter, but if you have an open mind then this Presence will reach you. Actually the Presence is ever-present; it's only that your attention is with that Presence now.

AN INDIVIDUAL ‘I’ NEVER EXISTED

There is nobody here that can run your life. No person can run his or her life. Nobody can sort out their life. It is life itself which sorts out everything. So ultimately the question is: Are you trusting this ‘person’ which you believe yourself to be? Or are you trusting life itself?

So many of us still trying to sort out the content of our life. And one of the most important pieces of content, it seems to most of us, is the concept that ‘In the content, the idea of me should become free’. Isn't it? The ‘idea of me’ should become free.

But this ‘idea of me’ cannot become free. As long as we are catering to this idea, then it will always be at some distance. It will always be ‘just a little more’. It will always be ‘almost there’. Because an idea cannot be free. You cannot make an idea free even with the most glorious concept of Self-realization. An idea is always only an idea.

Freedom is only freedom from ‘this idea of me’. If this is clear, then instantly freedom is here. I see so much seeming-struggle still; where the concept that ‘This individual me should get its freedom’ is not seen through. So, right now we can see through this concept. There is no individual me. It is as simple as that. There is no individual ‘I’. It just does not exist. If this one pointing is heard clearly, then there is actually nothing else to be heard. There is no individual ‘I’. It was only an idea.

WHO IS THE THOUGHT SPEAKING TO?

This ‘I’ just does not exist. Our thoughts are not speaking to anyone, they are speaking to the imaginary one. A simple inquiry is to just see: ‘Who is the thought speaking to?’ Wait for the next thought to arise, try to find out: ‘Who is the thought speaking with?’ And you will see that there is nothing there for the thought to communicate with.

There is nobody here! There is nobody here. A thought is not speaking with anyone. We are only imagining the one that we have conjured up out of our own ideas. That's why it's so simple just to stay in the right-now because in the right-now the imagined one cannot function. The mind cannot be in the right-now. The mind is always projecting into the future or taking something from the past.

Ultimately we are always only the Self. So all that is happening is only a ‘seeming’. All the suffering that is arising also is a ‘seeming’ so that unreality can be transcended. And once it is seen that ‘All is the Self’ then it is seen that none of this actually happened.

IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, THEN STAY IN THE KITCHEN

Once you get ‘off your horse’ then my head is also at your feet. Because I am always in service to that which has let go of the ego. That is pure Being itself and I am always only in service to this Being itself. I am the voice of the Being which is serving only the Being Itself.

But this voice cannot cater to the ego, and that is why the instant you ‘get off the horse’ in that very instant Truth in this voice will be immediately heard. But if you are looking for something personal, we are not here to cater to the ego. We are also not here to get you to any state. We are not here to give you any experience. We are just here to point to what you already are.

If you want to see the Truth, the regular sober seeing of your own ever-present Self, then that is available right here right now. The entire world, all that you do, caters to your idea of ‘me’, caters to your idea of ‘I’. But here that is not possible. Satsang is to remove this thorn of mis-belief in the ego. We are not here to make the thorn more comfortable.

That is why all your buttons seem to get pressed in satsang. All the buttons that are there will seem to get pressed as you go along. It might be that in the first few satsangs you find it very blissful, peaceful; but suddenly this resistance starts to come up. That's why I say ‘If you can't stand the heat, then make sure you stay in the kitchen! Don't run just yet’. Because this heat is burning what is untrue. It is burning the untruth.

The truth cannot be burnt. The resistance can be in any form. It can be that ‘I have understood now, and hence I can stop being in satsang’. It can be ‘I have understood now’. It can be that this is the same stuff over and over; it can be boredom, it can be sleep. But until the Master tells you ‘It is okay not to come to satsang’ until then we must be in satsang.

As I have often said, the voice that is speaking through this mouth is not the person Ananta's voice. It is the voice of your own Satguru in your own Heart. And once you come to the point of constant communion with this, your own inner Guru, your own Guru, then the external Master can say that you are constantly in satsang anyway.

Stay in satsang because we will take away the last blade of grass that you are carrying. Your bag will be made completely empty, and also your bag will be taken away. Nothing, nothing, nothing will be carried out of satsang. All will be surrendered here in the fire of satsang. To some of you this might still seem like a scary thought, but actually it is the most auspicious. To be completely empty is the most auspicious. In the right-now you are completely empty. Become bereft of all ideas and notions and concepts about yourself. Who lives here now?

Even this idea, even the thrower of all ideas, even the surrender-er will be surrendered. You know what the good news is? That all is already surrendered. We are only dreaming about all of this struggle. We are dreaming about this search to find our-self. You are already the Self. There is only Presence here.

YOU ARE THE DOER AND THE EXPERIENCER

“I can do nothing, it all happens on its own; ego reactions and pain, etc.”

All is flowing on its own, yes. It must be also seen that if we say that ‘Consciousness is the one doer’ we say ‘Guru is the one doer’. ‘Tvam karta’ means ‘You are the doer’. But this is only half of the truth. The other half is ‘Tvam bhogta’ which means ‘You are the experiencer’.

So we cannot say ‘You are the doer, and yet I am the experiencer’. Because ‘You are the doer’ itself means ‘You are all there is. God or Consciousness is all there is’. So if there is a sense that ‘You are the doer, but I am the experiencer’ then this concept that ‘I am the experiencer’ also must be thrown away. Because this would imply that God is doing everything that is happening to you. It is not true. God is doing everything that is happening to God itself. Do we understand this?

So the instant we have this feeling that ‘This is happening to me’ that means that we are still saying that ‘I must be the doer’ somewhere. Because the one that is the doer is also the experiencer. We must be completely clear that if Consciousness is the doer then Consciousness is also the experiencer. Therefore if some action is causing some suffering, then the action and the suffering both are God's alone; because the person just does not exist. That is why, if there is even a sense that ‘Something happened to me or through me’ then even that concept can be thrown in the fire. That is the meaning of surrendering.

It's like the beautiful story that the Master says, the beautiful story that Guruji shares, he says ‘Someone came to Jesus and said ‘I believe but help me overcome my disbelief’. So that is like surrendering, isn't it? You are already in a surrendered state. Yet it is auspicious to do the process of surrender.

MOMENTARY ACTIONS AND REACTIONS

These momentary reactions can come, momentary actions and reactions can come, but I am ultimately untouched by it’ is what the truth is. To get involved in the content as the doer or the experiencer is not true. That's the only learning in this. So just stay as the Self, just stay as Awareness itself, and you will see that all of this is just appearing and disappearing.

Any appearance, any content says nothing about You. The interpreter is never speaking the truth, so don't buy any interpretation no matter how true it sounds. All appearances are just appearances. Don't believe that they are speaking about You.

Through all of this content which is appearing, you are always only the witnessing of it. But when these strong reactions come, everything seems to happen together. It is very good actually that all of this happens so that it can be exposed and seen that ‘It is not me’. It is seen that it is not You. Even the actions and reactions happening through the body, they are seen to be just a happening, they are seen to be just an appearance. Isn't it?

So isn't it very good that it appears? Because you can see that it can seem so real, and yet now you know in your Heart that you are transcending it. How do I know this? Because you are still in satsang. Most Beings, in the strength of such strong physical discomfort, might not have continued to be in satsang. It is very good. In the face of such strong resistance to continue, to be in the Presence of satsang is very good.

Actually it is not that much hard work also. Just a simple pointing that the witnessing is ever-present anyway. You find that there is no distance between you and the witnessing. You don't have to make yourself the Awareness, and you don't have to force the Awareness. Can you stop witnessing? Can you stop being aware? No one can stop awareness. Therefore ‘Be the Awareness’ is only a simple pointing which means ‘Don't become or don't pretend to be anything but the Awareness’. It's not that it is work to become the Awareness. It actually means to let go of all effort of pretending to be something else, pretending to be a person.

There is actually nothing we can do to become the Awareness because we are already always the Awareness alone. It only means that we have to stop pretending, or giving up our belief to some personal ideas. The individual ‘I’ never, ever existed here. It was only an imagination. You are never the ego.

“Witnessing is ever present, it just doesn't seem to always translate to feeling free.”

Whatever feeling might be present, you are not that. All feelings are just appearances. So don't believe that freedom is a state. We are not trying to bring you to any state, because all states come and go, no matter how blissful or peaceful they might seem. You will find that you are only the stateless state. You are the one in which all states are born, untouched by any state.

WHO IS AWARE?

You say there is an ‘Is-ness’. Who is aware of this Is-ness? How are you able to report on the fact that ‘Is’ is here? There is an awareness even of pure Presence, isn't there? Awareness is prior to the ‘I Am’.

“Just this emptiness is aware."

Very good, very good. And in all of this, what are you?

“I must be the Awareness."

Yes, very good.

It's very simple actually, because we have simplified it so much now. Just in the simple question ‘Are you aware now?’ we see that Awareness alone is aware of awareness. It is the only non-phenomenal seeing; Awareness being aware of Itself.

SPIRITUAL IDENTITY IS EGO

“Can you explain the difference between belief and trust.”

Let’s look at this. Let’s introspect, and see what conclusions that we can draw. So, when there's only awareness, and attention is resting just with awareness, then the concept of belief does not even exist. Now, with the birth of the sense ‘I Am’ or the birth of Beingness itself, along with the birth of the phenomenal universe, there is also the birth of these forces called ‘attention’ and ‘belief’. You see this? In deep sleep, there is no attention and there is no belief. But with the birth of Consciousness itself, the forces of attention, belief and identity all come into play. Very few Beings have actually explored these, because they are always taken for granted, but each of them have some qualitative differences.

Let’s look at belief first. What is belief? The thought could come, and first our attention goes to it. Without our attention, there is no belief possible, isn't it? First it has to come to our attention. Whatever is believed, first the power of attention must go to it. But just because attention is going to it doesn't mean that it is automatically believed. Belief is a primal force; we have the power to say ‘Yes, this is true’ or ‘This is for me’ or ‘This I accept’. That is about belief.

Now, about trust. Trust actually means that we have followed something over some period of time, and it seemed to have helped us. For example, you come to satsang and you hear just this phrase: ‘Let go of your next thought’. You follow this for a while. There is a belief that is given to the words arising from here [points to himself] saying ‘Yes, this I accept’ or ‘This must be true’. Then we try them out, and say ‘Okay, let go of my next thought; let go of my next thought’… It is tried over a period of time, and it leads to a presence of peace, joy, happiness; makes us feel better, less stressed out. Then we say ‘Yes, I trust Ananta because I followed what he had to say, and it worked’.

So this would be the difference between belief and trust.

IT IS NOT THAT THE ‘PERSON’ BECOMES FREE

All personal conclusions are false; even the truest conclusion. It could be a conclusion like ‘I am That’. Or it could even be a conclusion like ‘I am Awareness’. But if it's still coming from ‘the person’ saying this, that ‘the person’ has now become Awareness, then it is still false, because all personal conclusions are false. You see this?

Any conclusion you can make about the person is just another perpetuating belief for the false one, for the imagined one. If we have really seen that the imagined person just does not exist, then who are we saying is beyond it? Who are we saying is untouched by nervousness or fear, or any of this? We can replace nervousness or fear with any conclusion that we can make about ourselves. What conclusion is it? Whose proclamation is it? Are we are saying that Being is now free? But Being was always free. So even when we are saying that ‘Now I am the Awareness alone’ it does not mean that ‘the person’ has become Awareness somehow. It only means the idea of ‘the person’ has been dropped and ‘I see that I was always the Awareness alone’.

This is a very good point. It's a little subtle, so stay with me if you're missing it. The point is not that ‘the person’ becomes something. I feel that all of you must hear this: It's not that ‘the person’ is now free. It is not that ‘the person’ has understood something. It is only that the person idea itself is dropped, and it is seen that only Witnessing was ever-present, only Awareness was ever-present, and that is my true nature. So, we're not referring to ‘the person’ as ‘my’ now. It isn't the person's true nature to become Awareness. The person never ever existed. The person has always only been imagination. We are talking about the Real now.

There are many who are now understanding it, but the point is that now this ‘person’ itself must be shown the door. All conclusions about the person, all ideas about the person, no matter how glorious they might sound, are still false. Because even at the end of the journey, if it seems like the person has become free, then the journey is not complete. The journey never actually really started, because your true nature is Awareness itself. But the seeming-journey is not complete, if at the end of the seeming-journey there is still a person that says ‘I am free now’.

So be clear that none of this applies to your identity. Satang is not for your identity. Satang is just communion of Consciousness with Consciousness itself. It is Consciousness speaking with Consciousness; which is all that can happen anyway. You see what I'm saying? In reality, that is all that can happen; it is only Consciousness here. But there's no pretending even that it is Ananta speaking with Zoe. Sometimes that can happen that way, as a pointing; but the point is that it is just Consciousness speaking with Consciousness.

Consciousness is unable to have a problem, actually. Maybe it wanted this experience of having this problem and transcending it; that's why it created the ‘identity’ of personhood. As a game, as a toy, how would Being have a problem? What can trouble Being? How can Being suffer? Can anyone find a way to make Being suffer? I would be very interested in this. The funniest thing is that there is no way to make the Being really suffer, but it is Being itself pretending to be a person suffering.

If you believe yourself to be a spiritual person, don't even cater to this idea at all; because the spiritual person is nothing but the spiritual ego itself. ‘Person’ means ego. If you're believing yourself to be a separate individual, a separate person, no matter how beautiful or spiritual, it is still ego. Let go of all ideas about yourself. Let go of all thoughts, proclamations, conclusions. Let go of any concepts about yourself. Be completely free in this moment now.

OPENNESS AND EGO CANNOT CO-EXIST

‘Trouble means an opportunity to transcend any identification’. With this understanding, there is a complete openness, because you will not resist anything that appears. Openness and ego cannot co-exist. Ego means resistance itself; resistance to what is. Therefore when we say openness, it means that ego is not here. ‘Trouble means an opportunity to transcend any identification’. Just with this simple understanding, you cannot suffer now, because there is an openness to all situations; and suffering cannot exist when there is openness. Suffering means a resistance to what is.

“HOW TO OVERCOME FEAR DURING BAD SITUATIONS?

The first part is how to overcome fear. First get an understanding of what is fear. What is fear? Can you see?

There are objects in the external world, and then there are what I call ‘internal objects’. What are these ‘internal objects’? They are like thoughts, imagination, memory, emotion. One of the emotions which can be perceived is the emotion of fear. What are the others? Anger, rage, joy, peace, happiness, bliss. So just like there is an awareness of external objects, there is an awareness of internal objects. These internal objects called feelings seem to be very, very intimate with us.

Now most of us have a fair amount of distance, it seems, from thoughts. But for some of us, feelings still seem to be very intimate. But you will see, as you stay in satsang, that even these feelings are just appearances. So rather than saying that ‘I am feeling fear’ first we must see that it is actually that the emotion of fear is arising. The witness of this emotion of fear is untouched by this fear; just as it is untouched by external objects, just as it is untouched by internal thoughts and imaginations, and dreams. In that way it is untouched by this emotion of fear also. Then once I see that ‘In reality, what I am is the witnessing itself, which is untouched by this feeling of fear’ then we will lose our fear about fear, and it will not be resisted. Because what arises can persist only if it is resisted.

So, the we resist fear that is arising; in our fight with the fear, in our conclusion that ‘There must not be this fear now’ or ‘I should not be feeling fearful’. In this resistance, we seem to make it last longer actually. But if we're just completely open, as space itself; if you were to see that you are infinite space, in which all is allowed to arise and go, then you would not resist it. You would say ‘Come. Show me what you have to show me’. Be completely open. And then you will see that it doesn't last at all. It doesn't last at all with no resistance; it is just coming and going like any thought. But when we make it a personal battle that ‘I need to stop this fear, this fear should not come, I need to do some therapy for it’ then it becomes more of a longer struggle. So that is about the first part.

The second part is, you say ‘during bad situations’. No situation actually is bad. This might sound a little strong to the mind, but the truth is that no situation actually is bad. All of the situations that are arising, if you have a true desire for freedom in your heart, are pointing you towards your true nature; are showing you that you are never this person that you believe yourself to be. So actually what we usually call bad situations are situations full of grace, which are opening our mind towards the truth. Otherwise there is so much arrogance and complacence in the idea of being a person that we are completely closed-minded to anyone that says ‘Why don't you find out who you are’. It is mostly the Beings who have been through an apparent period of suffering that are open to this quest for self-inquiry. At some point you’ll see that you learned so much from this situation that you are labeling a ‘bad situation’. You’ll see that you are so much more aware of your own true nature. It is the grace on the path of self-discovery.

So don't label it as bad or good. It's just another appearance for what you truly are. It is crushing the idea of the ego; it is crushing the ‘person’ idea. All thoughts that you believed about yourself will now get dissolved, and you will see that you are the pure Awareness itself, untouched by any of the content of this movie. This movie is playing and we're saying ‘This is a bad scene, this is a good scene, this is a bad scene’ and getting personally involved. Then you start crying in the bad scenes and laughing in the good scenes. You will just see it as a movie then. It will become like a happy dream.

The instant we identify with a part of the appearance and we call a part of the appearance ‘me’ or ‘mine’, in that instant we are in trouble. And trouble is what? Trouble is only an opportunity to transcend a false identification. So in the seed of the identification itself, there is potential for suffering, which itself is the cure for this identification. It is that simple, isn't it? The instant we identify as something which is coming and going, identify ourself to be part of the appearance, then we have planted the seed for suffering; and it is in the suffering itself that this identification will get cleaned up. Isn't it so beautiful?

“HOW TO WITNESS WITHOUT GETTING INVOLVED?”

In the first stage it is good to be the witness, to watch everything from a distance. Then you will ask ‘Who is this witness?’ or I will ask ‘Who is this witness?’ and you will see that there is no witness entity at all. All that is here is the Witnessing itself. You were never an entity, you were never a thing, you were not even the witness. You are the pure Witnessing itself. All there is, is a sense of witnessing itself. Awareness is not a thing. It is not an entity. It is only the Witnessing.

‘How to witness without involving? Actually you cannot stop witnessing. If I were to say ‘Stop witnessing now’ would you be able to do it? No. The Witnessing is ever-present. What is true is ever-present. In the waking state, you cannot stop being. That means the Presence of Consciousness or God is here always; and in all states there is pure witnessing. In deep sleep there is no object to be witnessed, yet the potential to witness is there. The Witnessing is still present. So you cannot turn it off actually. What you are trying to switch on, you can never actually switch off. What you are trying to become, you can never actually not be that. You can never not be the Witnessing. You are always That alone.

IDENTIFICATION WITH THE PARENTING ROLE

Don't try to forcefully rid yourself from this identification. This identification with children is a very, very primal identification in all Beings; in animals, in insects. It is present in all Beings, and it is a very primal identification which is part of this realm. Therefore all we must do is keep letting go of our thoughts. And you might find that the Self has no problem playing the mother role, but really it is not so strongly identified anymore. There is more freedom, there is more space, there is more contentment knowing that, because there is no ‘person’ here, there is no ‘person’ in our children also. They're all a part of us, as Being itself. It is only Being playing as Being. If this beautiful role of being a mother is being played out, then don't question it. Just don't attach to any thoughts about it, don't identify with any thoughts about it. Be completely natural moment to moment and let it play out. It is only the Being which is playing all of these roles. It does not need the intervention of any thought.

It is the same for all relationships. Just simply keep letting go of your thoughts, and let life unfold naturally the way it is meant to. No need to forcibly love or not love anything. Then you will find that love is an energetic form that is constantly in service to you. It is in service to your own Being, to your own Presence. There is nothing forced about love.

To be dis-identified with our thoughts is enough actually, because the idea of the person is perpetuated only by thoughts. It is nourished only by these ideas. And that's why we say so often in satsang: ‘No need to renounce anything except our thoughts; no need to renounce anything except our mind’.

I never say ‘Leave your job, leave your family, go to some ashram, go to some cave. That is not the advice. The advice is only to renounce this tiny insect in our mind which we seem to be catering to all the time. So if we let go of our mind, then all renunciation is done on its own. That is the only renunciation that is required.

When the life starts to be seen as a happy dream then all our relationships will also start reflecting this happiness, peace and joy. For a while there might seem to be strong resistance coming from the world and the Beings around us. But as we are stable in our understanding then soon, soon, soon everything just starts to stabilize.

If there is still some fear, then it will manifest in the so-called external world also; and it is good that it manifests because it is an opportunity to transcend it. So in the funniest way, the problem and the solution are the same. The problem is suffering, and in this suffering is the solution of the dissolving of personhood. When there is suffering, then the person cannot survive, the ego cannot survive.

“Consciousness is doing all of this, so what is the point? It brings great sadness.”

You are not just a mere point within Consciousness. Only the person idea can pretend to be this mere point of Consciousness. You are that great One, the Supreme One within which Consciousness itself is born.

The instant you identify and say ‘I'm just a mere person, and Consciousness is doing everything’ then these type of thoughts will come. But once you see that you are the Witnessing itself, the Awareness within which the Being is born, that Being is born from You, then who is the Supreme One? You are the Supreme One. Therefore Consciousness itself is in service to You. It is in service for Your entertainment, for Your joy.

So this one which is saying that ‘I am just a mere speck in Consciousness’ is not true. In fact, that is all that we are saying in satsang, that ‘You are the Supreme One. You are the One in which even God takes birth’. We are saying: ‘Let go of the imagined entity so that you see the truth for yourself. Consciousness is in control of this movie for your entertainment. You're not a mere character in the movie’. So let go of this one that is saying ‘I have no control here’. You-as-Consciousness are controlling this entire appearance. All phenomenon You are deciding, but not from a personal space. No person can ever become Consciousness. No person can ever be aware, because it is only imagined. That's the point, isn't it?

THE SATSANG ‘CHANNEL’

Are we still cultivating the person in any way? Behind even our spiritual search, are we still cultivating the idea of being an ego, a separate entity? Or is it completely clear that no person ever lived here, that this has never been a person's life, and all that appears is Consciousness itself? You have to smell this one out for yourself. Is there still a person being cultivated behind all of this beautiful knowledge? Is there a person who's claiming to now know it all, someone who has understood life? It can seem very subtle. It won't even necessarily smell of arrogance.

The ego that says ‘I know it all’ can be said to be more detrimental than the ego that says ‘I don't know anything at all’. Are we cultivating this ‘know it all’ or is it truly our seeing that no person ever lived here? Because if we are still nourishing the false idea that ‘I-as-a-person know something special’ then with this idea also, there is suffering in its tale. We must all check for ourselves whether we are still believing ourselves to be this separate individual.

You see, the spiritual ego is very, very subtle actually to ourselves. It seems very, very subtle. Because it could be speaking the most beautiful things. It could be speaking the most beautiful and seemingly true things. But as long as it comes from a place of specialness, we are still missing the point.

Especially when we've had some strong spiritual experiences, very quickly the voice of the person becomes ‘Oh yes, I have understood, I have got something’. Quickly forgetting that the only thing to be seen is that this one, who is making even this proclamation, just never existed. That is the only understanding.

If it was believed that ‘I am this person who now has understood something’ then that would be still the potential for suffering. It is not that in reality you become a person. This point also must be clear to everyone. Just by believing the thoughts of personhood doesn't make you into a person. It is only that you are believing a lie, and every lie believed in causes suffering ultimately. But without belief there is no potential for this suffering to arise.

Nothing will be carried out of satsang. Not a blade of grass you will be allowed to carry out of satsang. That is true satsang. All the weight of the world you carried into satsang; you will not be allowed to carry anything out. If grace ensures that you continue coming to satsang, you will find that the entire weight of the world that you were seemingly carrying on your shoulders, the entire weight will be taken away. Not even a blade of grass will be left behind. I am very greedy that way. I will not leave it with you. I will take it all away. Is that a scary thought?

It can be fearful only to the imagined one. So your belief determines even this being fearful or not. Because the imagined one has no potential to experience anything, including fear. So even the fear is your gift to the ego. Even the belief in fear is your gift alone to the ego. How can an imaginary one do anything at all, including believe in fear?

Not even a blade of grass you will be left with to call your own. This is the power of satsang. Who can handle this heat? Even to say that your head will be chopped off is an under-statement. You will be left with nothing you can call your own. Grace will bring all Beings to satsang. It doesn't have to be this satsang, but satsang meaning the company that will awaken you to the Truth. The company of the Truth itself. This is the divine friendship of satsang.

In your handing it over, it is already taken. Hand over all ideas you have about yourself. They are not speaking about You. They have nothing to do with You. All your thoughts have nothing to do with You. They're only about an imagined entity. Every single thought is about the imagined one. It is only the belief in this imagined one which can perpetuate your suffering. Show me a thought which refers to you as your True Self. That is why my Master says ‘The mind is not your friend. Not yet.'

“Please take everything away. I give it all to you.”

Very good. So you've given it away now in satsang. Everything, everything, everything. When satsang is over, will you rush to pick it up again? Or will you stay in satsang even after the designated hour is over?

What is it that we can surrender? Can we surrender anything that is real? Name one thing that is real that you can give away. It is very good to give away all that is false. I am waiting with open arms for you to give me everything that is false. The real cannot leave You. You are That.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF SATGURU?”

We say Satguru is actually your own inner Guru; the one in your Heart. There is no comparable word in English, but the closest you could come to it is to say ‘The voice of intuition itself’. It is comparable to the voice of Being itself. If Being itself had a pure voice, it would sound like the voice of this inner Guru, this voice of deeper intuition. And this voice is qualitatively different from the voice of thought or voice of the mind.

How do you tell the difference? Thought is a grasping, needy, proving energy. It is the voice which wants something or wants to prove something. The voice of the mind is not accompanied by the presence of love, peace and joy. It is mutually exclusive to these. So the simplest way is to say it is that if you find words emerging which seem to be dipped in the presence of love, dipped in the honey of peace and joy, then we would say that that is the voice of your own Heart. But, if it's the voice that's saying ‘What's in it for me?’ Or, trying to prove that it is ‘me first’ then this is the voice of the mind; and this mind must not be nourished by your belief.

So, the physical form of the Guru is only a channel, only and instrument for the voice of the Satguru to speak. All the Sages, their bodies, are only the instruments for this holy Presence to speak. So if there is any Sage which says that there is something special about this body / mind and claims to be anything beyond just an instrument for this pure Presence, then I would be very skeptical of such a teacher. All the teachers, authentic teachers, are just very clear. It is seen that it is only that the voice of the mind has been kept aside, and they have now become instruments to just speak from the inner Presence of Truth. These are the words arriving, arising in response to the question about the Satguru.

FEELINGS

Feeling, just like thought, just like any other appearance, is an arising and a going; is a coming and a going. It's only after it arises that we say that it was ‘my feeling’. Then when it seemed to be what we call a ‘good feeling’ then we say ‘I am feeling good’. And for what we label as a ‘bad feeling’ we say ‘I am feeling not so good’. But it is not true actually. Because feelings are not saying anything about you. Just because a feeling of joy is arising doesn't mean that you are joy. You are still only looking at the appearance of the joy. It can be an enjoyable experience, but because it is enjoyable doesn't mean it becomes you.

You'll see this, that you are the pure witnessing even of feelings. Just as you are the witnessing of the world and your thoughts, you are the witnessing of feelings as well. That's why we say freedom does not mean that you will be in a particular state or experience. Freedom means that all states and experiences are free to come. But you realize that you are the untouched one. So don't be concerned about what feeling is coming or going. The Witnessing is ever present.

SWITCH-OVER OF POWER FROM ‘PERSON’ TO PRESENCE

As my Master says, when there is a switch-over of power, seeming switch-over of power from the mind to the Being, an oscillation can seem to happen. But, just remember that in spite of this, even when you're in the most mind-ridden state, the most mind-hypnotized state, in reality You were never the mind. You were never the person. But yes, the appearance of this sort of oscillation can happen.

We are giving the remote back to You. Isn't it? You used to be like the buttons being pushed, and you danced. The channel changes based on the button getting pushed. But now in satsang we're removing the batteries from the remote. The buttons can be pushed, but your channel is always satsang channel.

“Satsang channel. All buttons on the remote control access the satsang channel. Love it.”

[Laughing] Thank you all so very much for joining this satsang ‘channel’ today.

OFF WITH THE HEAD!

One common misconception is that Being resides in the body. An even stronger misconception could be that the Self itself resides in this body. There is a lot of specialness associated with this body. The body is not seen sometimes to be just a part of the appearance itself. That's why we confuse ‘here’ to mean ‘spatially here’. When we say ‘what is here now’ we are not speaking about a spatial location; not about a location in space. What we are speaking of is prior to space and prior to time.

WHAT ARE YOU WITHOUT YOUR THOUGHTS?

“There is a neediness and insecurity present here.”

Very simply now, you can look at it. You have said ‘There is a neediness and insecurity present here’. But, are they yours? What makes them yours? So there could be a pen present here, but what makes it mine? If I call it mine does it become mine? Anything can arise in our lives. All appearances can come, but without our identification with them, do they have the potential to cause any suffering?

If satsang was only chocolate flavored moments, and all this pent up stuff did not get released and vomited out, then it would not be enough. Like I said ‘Not one blade of grass you will be allowed to carry out of satsang’. All your insecurities, all the neediness will come out here stronger and stronger and will get released. It is beautiful that it can happen in this way.

We can adopt this approach to say that ‘I am open completely to anything that arises. I do not have a preference for what is arising even’. Can we have this approach? Then how long will this neediness and insecurity last? We can also say that ‘All that is arising now is the Master's problem now’. It has nothing to do with you. All thoughts will try to convince you that it's about you. None of this is about you. This ‘you’ does not exist at all.

“There is resistance and involvement and lots of fear coming up.”

So for all of you, can you give me your heads? What are you without your head? What are you without your thoughts? Give me all your heads. [Laughing]

“Ha ha. The ‘headless way’.”

Yes.

“Some feeling of not being worthy enough to be free.”

[Laughing] Even without the head?

“No. Not without the head.” [Laughs]

[Sangha saying]: “Handing my head over to you. Take my head.”

“My heart is also yours. Leave nothing here.”

So when the head is handed over, what remains then? Most confuse heart to mean an emotional center; a center where all the emotions are coming from. If you speak to most people in the world they'll say that ‘I go with my heart’. What they are usually referring to is that they go where the emotions guide them.

The Heart we are referring to is your own true Being itself. What we also say is that the Heart also means the voice or the intuition, which is the voice of this pure Beingness itself. This pure Presence 'I Am', which for many seems to vibrate starting from the heart center, (and that is where maybe it started being called the ‘heart'), this pure Presence 'I Am' is the Heart itself.

“You are always in my heart. Never shall we be apart.”

I am your own Heart. It is the very same Presence which speaks here. It is this simple. Just give me your heads.

EMOTIONS RELEASED IN THE CONTEXT OF STABLE JOY

“I'm experiencing deep depressive emotions but there is total joy in this. So, what is this experiencing of this joy?”

Because you're ceasing to identify as the one individual who is experiencing this depression. When we identify, we resist. We confine ourselves to believing that ‘I am this one person who is feeling this depressive emotion’. Now, because your identification is dissolving, you are becoming open, and this opening is accompanied by a feeling of pure joy. It's a more stable sense of joy. It is not necessarily a very effervescent, jumping around sort of joy. There's more stability, a more stable sort of joy which is in the background. Though these depressive emotions are getting released, they are in the context of this stable joy because you have ceased to identify with the imagined one who was saying that ‘This is my depression’. Now in all truth, you cannot say really that this is your depression. It is only that these feelings seem to come up. But you know that this does not touch you; the feeling does not touch you. And because this feeling does not touch you, there is a sense of freedom about it which creates the stable sense of joy in the background.

'OM NAMAH SHIVAYA'

“Can you explain what ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ means?”

Yes. ‘Om’ is the primordial vibration which means the sense 'I Am', Being, Consciousness itself. So to say ‘Om’ before the start of anything is a very auspicious way to start. And ‘Namah Shivaya’ means: my head is bowed down to this pure Awareness itself.

Shiva has many representations but the way I would look at Shiva is a representation of pure Awareness itself, the Absolute. In Hinduism, Shiva is associated with the force of Being, the Destroyer. In the holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; Brahma is the Creator, Vishnu is the Preserver and Shiva is the Destroyer or Rejuvenator. But here when we say Shivaya we are mostly referring to Shiva as the Absolute.

So what we are saying when we say ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ is: ‘Om. I bow down to this Absolute, Shiva’. Om Namah Shivaya.

THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSCEND SUFFERING

“When suffering is experienced, I try to ask ‘Can this be seen?’ and it can, of course; but somehow there is more magnetism in the suffering, like an addiction to suffering.”

It seems like that. But in suffering, is the opportunity to transcend suffering. It could be any thought. If it causes suffering then it shows you what you are most identified with in that moment. It could be a partner identity. It could be a worker identity. It could be a seeker identity. It could be a teacher identity. It could be a student identity. It could be a parent identity. To see that ‘I am identified with this identity’ just shows you that you have taken this identity too seriously. You have taken it to be real. And to remove this thorn of suffering, all that is required is to see that it can never be real.

In fact, it is great insight to see this. I remember there was a time here, where there was this openness which said ‘Yes suffering is showing me all of this. Suffering is showing me what is still identified with’. Therefore, it is a great gift. It is a great blessing. A glorious prayer is: ‘May nothing be hidden now. May all of it come now. So that I might see what is still identified with here’. To be able to say ‘Give all of it to me now. I want to see everything that I am identified with. Don't keep any of it from me’ is a great prayer. In this, there is complete openness for all our identities to be exposed. Can we have this openness?

So the magnetism actually is in the attempt to resist it. We're so used to trying to counter the suffering; to say, ‘You should not be here. I don't want you’. That's where most of the juice comes from actually. The magnetism is from there. But if there's complete openness saying ‘I'm completely open to all that is arising’ then in a while all these identities will fall off on their own. Nothing will touch you actually. Nothing can touch you.

[Sangha saying]: “Yes to this Openness. Yes, yes. Let it all come now.”

IS IT YOUR PAIN?

“There is identification with realizing the truth without further pain.”

Let's look at this: ‘There is identification with realizing the truth without further pain’. This also means that there is identification that the pain is yours. Pain is something which is ever-present. In the physical form, pain will always be present. Even now, if you were to scan through the body, you will find some areas of little pain. But when we don't believe our mental interpretation about this pain, then you will see that it cannot become suffering. You will find that it is very manageable, this pain. In fact, energetically you might find that there is not so much difference between pain and pleasure. Some of you might find this funny, might even resist this. But if you were just to look at pain with complete openness, you will find that it is not so different energetically from pleasure itself.

Just like Mooji takes the example and says that nervousness or fear is not very different from excitement, energetically. It is only that the interpretation of both these is very different; and one we are resisting and the other we are open about. So don't identify. First, we must transcend this idea of pain also. It cannot be that you carry this fear of pain into the Truth. This one who is fearful of pain is also ‘the same guy’. The imagined one. Who is worried about pain? Who is fearing this pain? Is it you? Can you show me ‘this’ you? Show me this ‘you’. Where is it?

“Vicious thoughts and feelings come up and am not wanting to express these.”

First you must not have a resistance for these thoughts and feelings to come up. Most of our strength is zapped by this resistance actually. Be open to all thoughts and feelings to come. It could be the most vicious thought. Don't resist it from coming. Allow all the vicious thoughts to come, don't be fearful of them; and allow them to go. Let them be released. If you want, don't think about it as a coming of these vicious thoughts. Just look at it as a release. It is there somewhere, and it needs to get released, so it is going.

If you have this openness about it, then my feeling is that the actions might not turn out in this way. But if it becomes a struggle between trying to stop these thoughts and not wanting to express, then we find that we are already trapped; and then our expression also becomes this way. So don't be fearful of the expression also. Look at it as another appearance. If it has to appear in this way, through this body, then don't be fearful of that also.

But either of these expressions: the expression of the appearance of this thought in this way, or the expression of the appearance of these words from your mouth: Do they really touch you in any way? In what way do they touch you? And if there is suffering coming because of this, then it is good, again, because it is showing you what you are identified with.

All is just this game, you see? All that is appearing is to show you what you are identified with. All which still has some juice, some magnetism, some power for you is only showing you this. The more you run from it, the more it will try and come in front of you. You cannot escape it. So, I am telling you that you cannot be touched by this. There is no reason to fear, no reason to run. What are you scared to face? We will face it together. Let it be.

You are not the doer of this action. Show me the one who did something so that we can allow that one to feel guilty. The one who did it is the one who should carry the guilt, isn't it? Can you show me the one who did it?

It's very simple; actually very simple. A thought comes which says ‘You are horrible at gymnastics’. Does it hurt you?

“No”.

So this thought does not hurt. There is no suffering caused. But the next thought is ‘You are a horrible mother’.

“Ooh, the mother one has juice.”

Exactly. So in this way all suffering shows us what we are identified with. It is this simple, isn't it? We can't make it any simpler. So there is a concept around being a good mother. When this concept is attacked by your own thoughts then you say ‘This is suffering’. But now you are seeing that you are not the ‘mother’. It is Consciousness itself which is the one doer and the one experiencer.

So any time we are identified with a mis-belief, even the most glorious identification, in the root of this, in the tale of this identification, lies suffering. And in the tale of the suffering lies the freedom from the identification. Isn't it so beautiful, this game? In the tale of the identification lies the suffering, and in the tale of the suffering lies the freedom from the identification. Because the suffering will continue as long as we are identified. There is no way around it. But the instant it is seen that ‘I am not that’ then the suffering starts to vanish.

So if we can be completely open for life to show us all of our identifications, all of our misconceptions, all of our denials, then how long will it last? You cannot carry any misconception, any misidentification out of satsang. So, any of you can show me a thought which has the potential to make you suffer, and I can show you a mis-belief.

NEITHER DECIDING NOR NOT-DECIDING

“I think I should go get a job because I avoid this concept to avoid the identifications that come with it.”

Let life unfold on its own. Don't decide to get a job or be without a job. Don't make any decisions because the ‘decision maker’ is fake. The idea that you're making any decisions is a fake idea. Show me the one who is making the decisions. Who is this one? Just pure figment of imagination. The Self can play all the roles. Even the worker role is possible to play. All kidding aside, there is no aversion or desire here for work. Just this state of neutrality is good enough. Let all that has to appear, appear.

We say this often, isn't it? That we don't need to renounce our jobs. We don't need to renounce our families. We don't need to renounce our world. We don't need to go into some cave. All that needs to be renounced is the interpreter in our head. Just fire the interpreter, it is that simple. It is as simple as that.

It's all the same satsang actually, every day. ‘Give me your head, fire the interpreter, let go of your thoughts’. It all means the same thing. But because this conditioning has happened over what it seems is a long period of time, then we repeat the same thing over and over in different ways.

THE SEEKER IDENTITY

“The ‘I’ seems to explore, this is seen; but the sense of being a seeker continues”

The imagined one is only a bundle of thoughts. It cannot do anything at all. It cannot even search. It can only interpret what is appearing. It is only an interpreter. The fake ‘I’ cannot explore. It is the seeing itself, the pure witnessing, which is the real ‘I’. So you say ‘This is seen’. The Seeing itself, the Awareness itself, that is You.

The sense of being a seeker is also witnessed, isn't it? That there is a sense of seeking here, there is a desire for freedom, that is also witnessed. Is the witnessing touched by the sense of being a seeker?

“Doubts arise, then searching resumes.”

It's very simple. All that is required to be free from suffering is to let go of your next thought. This is the end of seeking. Let go of your next thought, let go of your next thought, let go of your next thought. Show me your suffering now. The end of suffering is this simple. The spiritual journey starts with wanting the end of suffering. So, in this simple pointing ‘Let go of your next thought’ the suffering is over. If there is openness, suffering is over.

Then you say ‘I want to see God. Can you show me God?’ and I say ‘Can you stop being now. Right now, you stop being. Can you do it?’ You cannot do it. This being that you cannot stop, This holy Presence is God itself, Consciousness, the sense ‘I Am’.

So now, in two simple pointings: ‘Let go of your next thought’ and ‘Can you stop being now?’ we have unraveled most of spirituality. Then you say, ‘but, but, but, I still want to see the absolute. Where does even God come from? Can I see that? The Absolute?’

The answer again is a simple pointing: ‘Are you aware now?’ Simply, like a child: ‘Are you aware now?’ And your answer will be ‘Yes’. This is Awareness aware of itself. Who is aware now? It is Awareness itself. This is the Absolute experiencing the Absolute; the only non-phenomenal experiencing.

Is there any room left for the seeker now? What is left to find?

IT IS DONE

It is done. You know how I know this? I know it is done because it has never been undone actually. The Truth has always been the Truth. The Truth has always been the Truth. The Truth does not change; the Truth is the changeless one. Truth does not even need any belief. What needs belief is the false. It is done. There is no need to believe any thought now. No thought will help you. The mind does not serve you; not yet.

We used to say this very often earlier that the whole world can burn, everything that appears can burn; but I rest as who ‘I Am’. The entire universe can explode to bits, but I am untouched by this. These are not just some beautiful words. Although they are beautiful words, they are not just some beautiful words like poetry. They are not imagination. It is what has been seen to be true. It is completely true, that anything can happen in this world of physical appearance, but I am untouched by it.

The Truth has nothing to convince you about; the Truth has nothing to defend; the Truth is not trying to impress you because the Truth remains untouched. This Truth You Are. And because you are this Truth, then all the rest is just your play. This play is completely safe because nothing really touches you at all. Therefore the Truth does not have to fear; it cannot fear actually.

This is your playground actually. So nothing real can be destroyed or spent. But when you get tired of playing then you say ‘I want to go back home’ and in the play itself you say ‘I seem to have forgotten my way back’. So, out of your light, you create a Master. Out of your own light you create a Master, who for a while plays along with you and says ‘Yes, yes. You have forgotten. I will bring you back’. But in his heart he knows that this is not true. It is just in the play that you seem to have forgotten.

There is a joy in this play, to say ‘I will hold your hand and lead you back home’. The Master knows that you have never left actually. But in the beginning, you are not ready to hear this, isn't it? You say ‘The playground is so real. I am here. What do you mean?’ In the play there is a process of the development of faith and trust. When this trust arises, then when the Master says ‘You have already been home. You have never left’. Then these words take a hold in your heart, and this fact is seen to be true. You have never been this person you imagined yourself to be. We have always been One.

Once you hold my hand, then actually it is done, because I will not leave you with any misconceptions or any attachments which are untrue. That's why my Master says ‘It is okay to be attached to the unattached’. Because the unattached one will burn all attachments, including this attachment. The mind will paint a picture for you that it doesn't want this attachment burnt, but you know what happens when the attachment is burnt? You realize that we were always One. You see that we were always One.

The Master’s hand is the hand you hold when you actually leave your hands completely open and let go. That is the only thing you hold by opening your hands. Everything else you have to grasp onto; you have to hold on tight. Because it is untrue. And the untrue needs to be held onto tight, it needs to be reinforced by beliefs, it needs to be worked at. But only the True is present when you have let go of everything else. When you have completely opened your hands, then the True is holding your hand.

Long before these bodies were born we have known each other. Long after these bodies will go, we will know each other, as One. I am your own Heart, and I am always in your Heart.

“WHO SEES CONSCIOUSNESS?”

This could be called the ultimate question; but it's very, very simple to answer.

The sense of pure Being is Consciousness itself. This is the Being which you say you cannot stop when I say ‘Can you stop being now?’ When I say ‘Can you stop being now?’ this is the Consciousness which you cannot stop. And who is aware of this? It is the pure seeing itself, which is You. So if I were to ask you very innocently, you would say ‘I am aware of this. I am aware even of Beingness’. But is this ‘I’ an entity? Is there a ‘seer’ there? If I were to ask you to tell me one attribute about the seer of Consciousness, you would not be able to tell me; because there is no ‘seer’ actually. There is only the pure seeing itself. This pure seeing is what we call Awareness, and this Awareness is aware of everything, including the Beingness.

When I ask you ‘Are you aware now?’ and you say you are aware now, it means this pure Awareness is aware even of Itself. This pure seeing, this pure Awareness, is the natural state. This is beyond all states. All states arise in this. Even the waking state arises in this, or the dream state arises in this, with the birth of Being itself, the birth of Consciousness itself. When there is Consciousness, there is the waking state, which is actually the same as dream state. So Consciousness gives birth inside the seeing itself, inside the Awareness. Consciousness depends on Awareness; Awareness is independent even of Consciousness.

Marinate in this. Just stay with this and you will see is your own natural state. You cannot leave the Awareness. You cannot step out of Awareness and become something else. You can only pretend. Even the Beingness actually, you can only pretend to be.

All that is required is a simple following of the pointing; just a seeing in a very innocent, childlike way and dropping all knowledge which has been picked up from the past. It can be simply seen to be the Truth.

THE ULTIMATE CHOICE

Initially, before coming to satsang, most of you would also think that ‘I am the thinker of my thoughts. I create these thoughts’. But that delusion quickly goes in a very simple looking: ‘Where does the thought come from?’ That delusion simply vanishes very easily, doesn't it? You're quickly able to see that the thought just appears. A bit of a leap seems to be if I was to say that ‘The action also appears in the exact same way. It is just another appearance’. All is a play of Being. All is a play of Consciousness and you can just watch this. You will see that it is completely true. All is appearing exactly the way it is meant to appear.

To say that you are doing something, or not doing something, would give reality to the idea that there is an individual ‘you’ that exists. But this individual ‘me’ nobody has ever been able to find. Don't believe something just because your thought is telling you it is true. Look for this entity you believe is the doer, and you will find that all of this is a play of the light of Consciousness itself. No thought and no action happens without there first being the birth of Consciousness itself. In Pure Awareness, no phenomenal movement happens.

With the birth of Being, then the so-called actions, and the so-called thoughts, and the so-called emotions, and all other movements start taking birth. Just as you are able to see that thoughts are an appearance, in the same way you will see that actions are also another appearance. They only differ energetically or phenomenally, but they are made up of the same stuff. They are made up of Consciousness itself, and there is nobody who can control Consciousness. There is no individual who can control the projection. That is why it is said that ‘God is the One Doer and the One Experiencer’.

It is very obvious actually, because if you see that the individual person just cannot be found, that the individual person just does not exist, then it must be This Consciousness itself, isn't it?

“It seems like thought always arrives just as action is about to happen and claims it.”

Yes, of course. It always arrives just before. But many times it does not also arise. We still claim it to be our action. If this phone was falling, and while not waiting for a thought, the hand goes to catch the phone; we call that reflex. That means action is still possible without thought. But to keep this false illusion of doership, of false personhood, it seems like the mind plays this trick.

Many times we have seen that we could have seemingly decided on one course of action, but when we show up in this particular place we find some completely different set of words coming out of our mouth, or completely different actions being taken by our hands, isn't it? Then we say, ‘I don't know what happened, because I had thought I would do something else; but actually when I got there something completely different happened’.

You can just quietly witness that all actions are just appearances in the same way that all thoughts are. Otherwise what you could do is contemplate: Who could be the decision-maker? Who could be the decision-maker that takes some thoughts and decides to act on them? Can you show me this decision-maker? What does it look like?

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T ENGAGE WITH THAT FEELING?

“Sometimes I feel this hatred when people are around me.”

Let’s do this experiment. Don't resist this hatred. Allow it to come and allow it to go. Just like you're doing with thoughts now, even with feelings, don't resist them. Just make complete space. Be completely open. Let it come and let it go. You don't identify with it. You don't say that ‘I am feeling hatred’. Just the way you said ‘There is hatred appearing’ is fine. So without engagement, see what happens. I'm sure that what will emerge will be completely auspicious. Don't imagine that it will be what the mind wants. Have no expectations this way. Just follow the pointings of these words and then report back, and say that it was auspicious or it was inauspicious.

CAN YOU BE IN LIMBO?

“It feels like staying in limbo between mind and Truth.”

It feels like staying in limbo; but immediately, just in this much, you have identified yourself as an entity, which is between something, isn't it? This is not true. It is the imaginary identity, the imaginary entity of being a person whose testimony is saying ‘I feel like I'm stuck between mind and Truth’. Can you show me what this one looks like? The one that is in limbo, between mind and Truth? If you were to say that ‘My attention seems to stay with the sense of Being, stay home as Awareness itself, and sometimes seems to jump to mind’ then we can understand that. With the nature of attention being what it is, it can go back and forth. But can You be in limbo? Who is attention reporting to? Can that be in limbo?

“This limbo has been here for several years. Please help me to disappear completely.”

Who is aware of all of this? Let’s do this together now. You say that you have been stuck for several years. I know that it might sound like you’ve heard all of this before. But just for a few moments, if you can forget all that you’ve heard; forget all knowledge, all Advaita, all satsang; and just be here fresh with me.

In this moment there is a perceiving of external objects when the senses are open. When the senses are open, there is a perceiving of the computer. It could be perceiving of a table. It could be perceiving of all these seemingly external objects. Just notice that all of this is being perceived. And if you were to close your eyes, there would be a perceiving of what I call ‘internal objects’. These internal energy constructs could be thoughts, it could be memories, it could be imagination, it could even be emotions. You can see that these appearances also come and go.

Then it is also seen that you cannot stop being now. You cannot stop being now. If somebody were to give you an instruction to ‘Stop being right now’ you will see that you cannot stop being. This Presence, this sense of ‘I-Amness’ is Consciousness, which is the Deity of the waking state. Even this is perceived instantly. When I say ‘Can you stop being now?’ you say ‘I cannot stop being.’ The mind cannot understand this. Don't try to understand this with your mind. Just see what is being said; just follow the pointing very simply.

So there was a perceiving of the external objects. There was a perceiving of the internal objects. There is also a sense of perceiving the Beingness itself, the sense that ‘I am Being’, that ‘I Am’. You are aware of this. This Presence is not aware of anything. It is not aware of you. It is just Being.

Then if I were to ask you: Are you aware? Are you aware of the external object, of the internal object, and this Being itself? You would say ‘Yes, I am Aware’. This Awareness is prior to all states; prior to the mind, prior to any ideas of Truth. This is the eternal, ever-present Witnessing itself. This is the Witnessing, without which you can never report that something was perceived. Can you stop this Witnessing? Can you stop witnessing now? Can you stop being aware now?

Is this Awareness, is this eternal witnessing, is This in any state of limbo? Can You ever be in any state actually?

“No”

What is the difference between you and this Awareness? What separates you from this Awareness? Where does Awareness stop and you start? Can you show me the distance between you and this Awareness?

“Nothing.”

Now from here; can you speak from here? Can you speak of any suffering from here? Without picking up a thought, or giving a belief to a thought, can you speak of any identity, of any suffering at this point?

“No words. All is well.”

Very good. It is this simple.

THIS DANCE OF CONTRAST

Don't even get attached to the states of peace and joy. You are not to be in service to any state. All states, even the most glorious states of love, peace and joy are in service to you. If you start chasing them, then they seem to run from you. You just stay still and then you will find that all of these states are ever-present in your service and you are completely unconcerned whether they are there or not. Then you will not be worried about worry also. You’ll be completely open to all that comes, because nothing that comes actually touches you in any way. They're all just dancing in front of you for your entertainment.

Without the color black, could you know the color white? Without the color white, could you know the color black? Without the contrast we cannot tell whether something is joy or not. We cannot tell when something is peace or not. If there was always peace, then what would you call peace? So, welcome this dance of contrast. It does not touch you.

THE IMAGINED PERSON IS DISSOLVING

We have been catering to an imaginary concept. Then when we ask ‘Can you show me the person?’ you will point to your body saying ‘This is the person’. But we have not been catering to the body. Most of our problems, most of our concerns, do not actually relate to the body.

It is very common in spiritual circles to say ‘You believe you are the body and that is why there are so many problems’. It is not true. It is a very rare Being that believes completely they are the only the body, because the body has very few needs, actually. So if you want more money in the bank, is that something the body wants? The body is just an innocent instrument. If you want to travel the world, is that something the body wants? If you want to earn a lot of money, is it something that the body wants? If you want better relationships, happy peaceful relationships, is it something the body wants?

So all of these concerns, including freedom, including liberation, is it something that the body wants? No, it is not. So there is only a rare Being who truly believes himself to be the body. What do the rest of us believe? The rest of us believe that we are this imaginary concept called a person, which is only just a set of ideas. It could start with the basic ideas like ‘I am a good person, I am an honest person, I am truthful, I am naughty, I am adventurous, I want to be free’. All these were just ideas, thoughts which came; and we invested so much belief in them. We said ‘Yes, that is me’.

As a child, the thought could have come that ‘I want to become I pilot, or an astronaut’. To believe in that thought, then all the identity would be around making this person an astronaut or a pilot. Then if you were to tell this person that ‘You can never be a pilot’ then that would hurt. But if you were to tell somebody else, who never believed in this identity that ‘You could never be a pilot’ they would say ‘That's not a big deal at all, I never wanted to be one’. Just the difference of one thought. Just the walking down this thought leads to this sort of identification. The ‘person’ is only this clump of ideas.

“Is there a sense of maturing here?”

Yes. In this play is seems like, in the presence of the Master, this process of maturing happens. What is actually happening is that the sense of individuality or the ego or the sense of separation is actually dissolving. It has been nourished over many, many years, maybe many, many lifetimes, and in satsang very quickly, if you have openness, then it seems to get dissolved. So for some Beings it seems like a slow melting and for some it seems like an immediate crunching. All is part of the play. The end goal is the same. You will not survive satsang as a person. The person idea will be removed. If satsang continues, it is not possible for the person idea to persist.

So in some Beings there can be this sense of more understanding, more clarity, sometimes back and forth; and then coming to a point of clear, clear, clear seeing that the person never existed. Even after this clear, clear, clear seeing there can be momentary belief given to the idea of people, to the idea of personhood. Even in the great Sages and Masters there can be this momentary belief but very quickly it is dropped. That is the only difference.

RESISTANCE TO THOUGHTS

Just try it now: Be completely open to all thought. Be completely open to a skeptical thought or any thought that is coming. Let all of them come. We can say ‘bring it on’. Don't have any fear about it. Don't worry about the quality or the quantity of any thought. Can any thought exist without your witnessing of it? No thought can exist without your witnessing of it. So you will never get lost because you are this Witnessing itself. Is there ever a moment where this witnessing is absent? If the Witnessing was absent you could not even say that there was a thought; because without the Witnessing we cannot report anything at all.

So in this openness you will find that everything becomes very simple, simple, simple. No effort. Everything is dropped, no resistance, no effort. All is allowed. All is open. This is the egoless state. This is the person-less state, or what the Zen masters used to call the ‘no-mind’ state. So in fact you are not lost, but you are found. Only the thought will say that you are getting lost. But in effect, when all resistance and all effort is dropped, your true nature is found. Do it, and tell me if it works or not.

THE ULTIMATE CHOICE

As long as there is belief in the concept of choice, as long as you feel some effort can be done, then we must make this choice to let go of your next thought. This is the ultimate choice. As you keep letting go of the thoughts, you will come to the realization that even this choice was made by Grace itself. When the person is completely dissolved, you will see that even this choice had to have been made by Grace itself because there was never a person there. But I do say that if you feel that you have some choice, then you must make the choice of letting go of your next thought. Don't believe your next thought. That's good enough.

TRUE INDEPENDENCE

May all of us find our true independence. May we be independent of the false. May we lose our dependence on the untrue. That is true independence, isn't it? What is true independence? To be free from the false. That is my wish and my blessing to all Beings. May all Beings come to their true freedom. It is very easy. It is completely possible right now, to be completely free; because it is independent of any external circumstances. True freedom is present already.

“WHAT IS THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING ENLIGHTENED?”

The experience of being enlightened is only the complete seeing that the person never existed here. Therefore it cannot really be called an experience at all. It cannot be called a state. It's completely seen that the ego was complete imagination and falsehood.

At most times, it seems like a laughable idea. That I could be so strongly identified as a person seems like a laughable idea, a joke. With this dissolution of personhood we lose the ability to suffer. Nothing happening in the appearance can make you suffer. Pain can arise momentarily, but there is no sense of suffering. Of course, as by-products, you can have many experiences, you can have many fireworks; you can also face many challenges to play this out in various different ways. That is why I keep emphasizing that: Don't focus on the states or don't focus on the experiences. Those are truly not relevant. It is like your vision used to be colored through the spectacles of personhood earlier, where everything was seen from a personal perspective, everything was seen from the eyes of ‘What is in it for me? What is the benefit for me?’

Once this ‘me’ is dissolved, everything can be just flowing without the neediness, without us grasping for everything that we see. Then life becomes a lot of fun actually. But this joy does not mean that it has to be some blissed-out state or freaked out state. It doesn't have to be a high in that sense. It is a very natural, peaceful, pure, neutral state. In fact, it is the state in which all other states arise.

“How can it be my experience?"

I know this question well because I also have carried this question in the past that ‘I have understood all of this but how can it be my experience?’ But actually it is not true that you know this only intellectually. You know the Beingness and Awareness is ever-present. Aren't you aware right now? The one that is aware of the seeming external world, the one that is even aware of the seeming internal world of thoughts, imagination, memories, emotions: who is this one? Who is this one? Are you separate from this?

You are aware right now, and this Awareness you are. Don't expect it to be a phenomenal experience, don't expect fireworks; because all phenomenal experiences that come will go. Don't expect a state to come and stay. All that can come, will go. What lasts is the witnessing. So without believing a thought, where are you now?

“Yes, I am aware. But ego individuality is still there. Suffering is less but keeps coming once in a while. I do not experience what you described."

That ‘suffering is less’ is very good to start with. And you see that without believing a thought, suffering cannot continue. So right now, if you are not believing a thought, you are free. Keep all these thoughts aside and right now you are free. Next thought, keep it aside and you are free. Next thought, keep it aside, you are free. No thought can force you to pick it up. You are giving meaning to it. Next thought, keep it aside; you are free.

Your own desire for enlightenment can become the bondage for you. In the final stage, that is the only bondage that seems to remain. Sometimes the desire for freedom becomes so strong that it has burnt all other desires to a great extent and now only this remains. But it is an auspicious desire, because this desire itself will be burnt by the desire for freedom. It is the only self-burning desire, if we can put it like that. You are free now. Forget about the future, forget about the forever. In the now, show me suffering. Don't wait for guarantees. Don't do post mortems of the past. Let go of your next thought. That's all that is required. This is freedom.

This is the freedom which requires no proclamations. No announcements are required because ALL are free in this very moment. All thoughts are pulling you away from the now. But reality is only in the now. Reality is only here. And this ‘here and now’ is prior to time and space. It does not mean physically here or physically now. When you withdraw your belief from all thoughts, even the thoughts of liberation, then you will find that you are prior to all phenomena including time and space.

The one who wants freedom is not real. It is the same one who wanted money, the same one who wanted better relationships. The same one now is saying ‘I want freedom’. Freedom is freedom from this one. If you keep catering to this one, then how can you find freedom from the same one? This one is nourished by the belief in the thought that ‘I want the experience of enlightenment’. It could say that ‘I want what you have’. And I can say that ‘I have nothing actually’. This is the blessing that I have; I have nothing. Are you ready to have what I have? I have nothing, I know nothing and I am no thing; and it is completely glorious. The mind will not fathom this.

If there is still a person there running around for enlightenment, then the more you do to get that person enlightened the more of the fallacy you are encouraging. You are already the Self alone. No ‘person’ is ever enlightened. Free yourself from this false idea of personhood. We have given you all the tools now. The simplest way is to just let go of your next thought. Then something will come and say ‘Okay, okay, you have let go of all thoughts but this one is still important’. But it is not. Be free from it.

Like my Master says ‘Don't have an affection for the infection’. No matter how endearing it might appear, it will only perpetuate the delusion; it is not in service to you now. The desire for freedom has got you here; now its work is done. All that you want is being pointed to you very simply. Don't give it to your mind to interpret it. The mind will never agree with what is being said in satsang. Don't keep waiting for your mind's approval. The mind will never want you to be free from it. And don't try to get freedom for the mind. This is freedom from the mind.

The mind will say ‘You haven't experienced death. The great Masters say you must experience death and then you can call yourself free’. When you drop the desire to call yourself free, you will see that there is only life; and the death is for the idea of the person itself. That is the death which they are speaking of. It will paint all kinds of pictures of what enlightenment must mean, but that is not it. It will tell you that ‘If you are free, no pain can ever arise’. It is not true. It will tell you that ‘When you are free, you will be able to predict all events in the world’. It is not true. It will tell you that ‘When you are free, this body will do all kinds of miracles and it will never have any disease’. It is not true.

Drop all these ideas about freedom, enlightenment. All that can be said is, to the greatest extent (but not a hundred percent), to the greatest extent you will lose the ability to suffer. You will find that, momentarily, even the greatest sages have suffered or seem to suffer. Even Jesus seemed to have suffered on the cross when he said ‘Oh, Father, why have you forsaken me?’ Even Ram is said to have gone into immense grief for a while when Sita was taken away from him. I feel that these are glorious examples, these are great examples, so that we don't keep beating ourselves up about the momentary suffering that arises. We don't believe the mind's unrealistic expectations. Anybody who has been given a human birth will undergo its share of suffering; but because you don't take it personally ever, it can be said that 99.3 percent of your suffering will vanish. (You know that I'm joking about the precise value, right?)

“I've been releasing thoughts. I feel great, but it requires a lot of effort. I wonder how I can maintain it, for example.”

Let’s look at this. What do you do to release thoughts? A thought will come, and a thought will go. Initially for a short while, yes, it can seem like it is effort to not give it our belief. But you have made a practice out of it, you have made a ‘doing’ out of a ‘non-doing’. Actually the ‘doing’ is in the giving of the belief; it is not in the withdrawing of the belief. We can try it out, right here, right now. Just become completely open to all thoughts. Be completely open to all thoughts. Don't say that some thought should come or not come. Let it everything come and everything go. Now show me what work is required to maintain it?

No one can hold on to a state of euphoria forever. I have met many Masters, but there is no Master, no true Master, who is in a euphoric state all the time. There are some false ones who pretend to be in that state all the time. Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi also said all states are coming and going. No testimony from a real Master has said that euphoria or bliss is continuous. What are they are talking about is the sober joy of freedom, sober bliss which exists here. It is not a ‘high’ state; it's not like a drug high.

“Yes, I am ready for nothingness.”

If you are ready for this emptiness, this nothingness, then drop all ideas of what freedom should be; what it should look like. Don't make letting go of thoughts into a hard practice. Just a little bit, initially, it can seem like a little effort because our habit has been to pick up every thought; therefore it seems like effort. But very quickly you will see, it's actually much easier. It's much easier to let go of thoughts than to pick up thoughts. Just like it is much easier to keep heavy bags down and not carry them, than to carry them around. But because we have gotten used to carrying this ‘person’ or this monkey on our backs, we feel that letting go of it is hard work. It is not.

“What about this maturing, or confirming the changing over of power from person to Presence?”

So, actually it is only Presence which is doing everything and experiencing everything. It is only Presence which is the doer and the experiencer. No person has ever existed. So when my Master talks about the switching over of power from person to Presence, he's speaking about the switching of our perspective from the unreal to the Real. We have pretended to be something which has never existed; and then we get clarified into what has really been here. So we have nourished the false through the belief in our thoughts for seemingly a very long time; that's why it seems to be taking a little time for this person to dissolve. This process is called the switching over of power. But it is completely seen that power has always been with Presence alone. It is only that we have believed the false, and now we see that the false is crumbling or the false is dissolving. This is called the switching over, or the changing over, of power.

For many, even after a long time in satsang, it still remains a personal perspective because this person has still not been confronted and thrown away. So all of it seems to become a personal journey. Even until the end, it is about the person asking for the experience of enlightenment. But enlightenment means to rid ourselves from belief in this person.

THE MOST SIMPLE AND OBVIOUS

It is the most obvious seeing that ‘I am aware now’. What knows this is Awareness itself. It is the most obvious. That is why I said ‘Too simple for the mind’. But something in you, deeply intuitively, sees the power of this.

Even the experience of Being or Consciousness seems to be much more phenomenal when compared to this simple question. The experience of ‘I Amness’ seems to be like the birth of phenomena when compared to this question, the simplest question: ‘Are you aware now?’ With this you see your true freedom, your true independence. You find that you are forever free. Even if the body seems to be in some captivity, you are always independent, you are always free.

PEOPLE CHANGE

This morning I heard two very beautiful words. Although I have heard them a million times before, there was something exquisite when I heard them today because there was a deep truth that was being spoken in just these two words. The two words were ‘people change’. Two simple words: people change.

We have heard this many times before, haven’t we? We also know that what changes is not real. What comes and goes is not real. If the Self is real, then in must be ever-present. It is very true that people change. Therefore it must be that the people, or the sense of the person, cannot be real. And even if it were real, why would we want to rely on something that is constantly changing? I would not want to bet on something that is constantly changing.

Just in these two words there is a great opening actually. It is seen that people change, and we see that that is completely true. The person that is here today seems to be very different from the person that was here a month ago, a year ago. The further back we go, more and more unrecognizable this person becomes. The changeful cannot be real, and a person is constantly changing.

When we say ‘people change’ what does it mean? We seem to feel that what they are, or what their beliefs are, or what they stand for are constantly changing; and it is true. An identity is what? A group of beliefs; a set of beliefs that we have identified with to say that ‘This is me’. Everyday a new belief is either picked up or let go of. Therefore this entity is constantly changing and completely in our mind.

WHAT ARE YOU REFERRING TO YOURSELF AS?

“Is the ego’s destiny pre-determined, fate?”

Fate is the question of perspective. Doership, fate, karma, pre-destiny is all a question of what you are referring to yourself as. If you are referring to yourself as the identity, as a person, then it is seen that the person has no power to do anything at all, because the person just does not exist. A non-existent one can have no way of doing anything at all. It sounds so obvious but this question of ‘person’ seems very sticky. Therefore we repeat it very often, that the imaginary one cannot do anything at all.

If you refer to yourself as a person then we can say everything will happen as it is destined to happen. But if you are referring to yourself as Consciousness itself, as Consciousness, as God, then You are the ultimate decision maker, the ultimate doer. You are the one decision maker, the one doer, the one experiencer. All that is You. So what are you referring to yourself as? If you see that you are the pure Witnessing alone, the pure Awareness itself, then You are just the witnessing of all the phenomenal play. You are not worried about whether it is pre-determined, or determined. Whatever is happening is just allowed to happen.

“If I surrender to whatever happens, then will it be inertia?”

That is the fear, isn't it? What happens is that we say ‘I surrender to God, I surrender to the Master or I surrender to the universe; but please take care of my life’. Ultimately at the root of this question is the fear that ‘God will make a mess of my life if I surrender completely. God does not know how to run my life; therefore before I give up, I must get a guarantee that I will be taken care of’. The One who runs the entire set of multi-verses, with all the realms and all the Beings, and all these primal forces like light and gravity and electricity, and so many, many, many Beings, and so many planets, where everything is happening like clockwork in its own beautiful pattern, the creation and dissolution of universes is happening through the power of this Consciousness. But the fear is that ‘My life cannot be taken care of by this One’. You see this? ‘My bills cannot be paid by this One’.

The truth is that the one who is fearful does not exist. Therefore surrender does not mean that you are ‘doing’ a surrender. It is only a recognition that you are always surrendered anyway. It is only a false idea that the person is the doer of any action. For that there needs to be a person first, isn't it? So who is going to surrender? This concept, this one, must be surrendered. This is only a belief, a belief that ‘I am a separate existence, a separate individual’, that ‘I am a separate entity’.

“If ego does not ‘will’, how do people build companies, businesses’ if they don't ‘will’ and act with doership idea?”

So it is presuming that ‘I am this person’ and then ‘I have an idea that I will build a company, and because of this idea I can go out and build something’. But who is the one who is deciding? That ‘I will build a company’ or that ‘I will devote my life to charity’? Who is the decision maker? Can you find this decision maker?

And after you look for the decision maker and cannot find it, you can also look for the one who created this thought of building a company. Are you creating your thought?

And after you cannot find the one that created this thought, you can also look for the one who said, “Okay, I will believe this thought and I will move my body according to these thoughts’. Who is moving your heart? Who is moving your hand? Can you find this one?

And after you have looked for this one and you cannot find the one who is moving your heart, then you also look for one who is experiencing the play of life. Who is experiencing this play of life?

In this play, it can seem like that. But this someone powerful and us is actually One. Just like the movie screen, the movie is being projected but it is the same light. The same light is projecting the hero and the villain; the oppressed and the oppressor. All is in the same light of Consciousness. We only suffer only with what we have identified with.

“We need to silently suffer thinking it is all happening as God's will?”

So, this ‘we’ or this ‘I’, can you introduce this one? Who is this one who needs to silently suffer? Can you show me? You are testifying so much to being this one, and I am saying this one just does not exist. Show me the one that needs to suffer? Who are you?

“The body, the mind suffer extreme pain.”

The body can suffer pain, pain can arise in the body, but you cannot suffer from it until you believe a thought about it. The awareness of the pain is completely untouched by the pain. The awareness of the mind is completely untouched by the mind. You-the-mind is suffering. Let's look at this. What is the mind? The mind is only a bundle of thoughts and similar energies. It is your belief in the thought which gives it its power.

When you go to sleep at night, and at night you have a dream, and in the dream the dream character’s leg is cut off, that body will scream with pain; but are you suffering? You are suffering only because you believe that to be true. You believe that to be ‘you’. In the same way, whatever you believe falsely to be you will be the cause of your suffering. Therefore whatever is making you suffer, see whatever false identification it is pointing you towards, and find out what you really are. Are you this body which is going to last another 30, 40, 50 years? Who were you before the birth of this body?

“So many thoughts of ‘meaningless’ arise to realize that nothing ever happened, not even the dream; that it's all just the play. What is the point if nothing ever happened?”

Who is fearful of this idea? Is the Witnessing worried that ‘What is the point if nothing has happened?’ Is Being worried that ‘If the universe burns to bits, then what will I be left with?’ No. Seeing and Being are unconcerned with the phenomenal universe. It is still the person trying to find some personal meaning in all of this who is now complaining that ‘All has become meaningless’. Yes, because the person is meaningless. The person has no meaning. The search for true meaning will get you to the realization that the person never existed. If your search for meaning is true, if your desire for freedom is true, then you will not stop at this point. You will see that the person is also completely untrue. So what starts off as a personal search for meaning then becomes completely global, it becomes completely open. You see that the person itself is not there.

“Until we fall into the state of true Self, should we guard?”

Yes, just be vigilant against believing any thoughts. Simplest, simplest thing. I'll make it even simpler for you: Just let go of your next thought. If you have picked up a thought, and you have believed it and suffering has come, all that you have to do is let go of your next thought. At any point of time, just let go of your next thought. We have made it completely, completely simple. You are already the true Self. Thought is coming to attempt to delude you into believing you are a person. Therefore your question is ‘How do I prevent this delusion?’ Although ultimately it doesn't touch the fact that ‘I am only the true Self’. Therefore the answer is to just let go of your next thought.

“So, actually we need to let go of positive and negative thinking, and just resign to the universe.”

But You are the Universe. When you let go of your thoughts, what are you? So there is still this personal smell there, which is telling me that still a person is trying to do something and resign to something. I must be completely truthful to you and say that ‘You are the Universe’. Or even greater, that ‘The Universe arises from within You’.

JUST HAND OVER WHATEVER IS HAPPENING

Even when sometimes we feel that we switched off the fan, the fan continues with its own prior momentum. Bhagavan [Ramana Maharshi] gave this example. We turn the electricity off, and yet with the prior momentum, it seems to keep spinning for a while. But don't judge now whether this movement is still happening or not. Just hand over everything that is happening; and in your handing this over, you will not switch on the fan again; and it will not keep turning for long.

Chapter 2

Who Is Witnessing?

YOU ARE THIS PURE WITNESSING

GUIDED MEDITATION

With our eyes open, let's become aware of our surroundings. Look around the room. Become aware of your surroundings. Leave your attention completely free to go where ever it would like. Attention can go where ever it likes. Notice that when an object comes into your attention, and you become aware of it, it exists for you. Let your attention go where ever it likes. In the light of this attention the external world is given life.

Gently, we can close our eyes now, and keep the attention with the body. Become aware of the body.

Notice that you are aware of the body. The body is not aware of you. You are witnessing the body. The body is not witnessing you.

Become aware of your breath. Keep your attention with the breath. Breathing in and breathing out, stay with your breath. [Silence] Keep breathing normally and gently with no force of any kind.

You are aware of your breath. Your breath isn't aware of you. You are witnessing your breath. Your breath is not witnessing you.

Become aware of your thoughts. Be completely open to all thoughts. Don't resist any thought at all. Let them come and let them go. Don't give your belief to any thought. Let them all just come and go. If there are a lot of thoughts, it is completely okay, and if there are no thoughts that is okay, too.

Confirm that you are witnessing your thoughts. Your thoughts are not witnessing you. You are aware of your thoughts.

Become aware of any feeling that might exist. Keep your attention on the feelings. All feelings are allowed. Don't label any feeling that is arising. You are infinite space in which all feelings are allowed.

You are witnessing your feelings. Your feelings are not witnessing you. All that is arising will go shortly. Nothing that has come will stay.

Become aware of the sense that you are. The sense that comes with the words 'I Am'. This Presence of You is always present in the waking state. This Presence is your own Being. This Presence is Consciousness. This is God's Presence. This is Your Presence.

Confirm that you are witnessing this Presence. The Presence is not witnessing you. You are aware of even this holy Presence. This Presence is born in You.

Become aware of this Awareness, which is aware of all that is arising and fading away. Know that this pure, untouched witnessing, You are. This unblemished seeing is your true nature. This Eternal Witnessing, You are. May you never be confused ever again about your true identity.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti. Moojiji Ki Jai.

IS BEING IS ACTIVE AND NON-ACTIVE AT THE SAME TIME?

An excellent question. And the answer could be said to be ‘Yes’. Look at Being as the light of Consciousness itself, and in this light the world is actually projected. So all movements are just projections of this light. So, like in the cinema, there is a light which is projecting the movie. Here, Being is the light and the screen. So, is the light moving or unmoving? We can say that the light is constant, yet the movie is moving. Or, we can say that the light is moving in some way, that's why the movement is happening on the screen. And either are okay, based on how you see it. Therefore, it can be said that Being is an ever-present constant; and yet it can be said that it is constantly moving. Language cannot describe Being. But we can point to reality.

FREEDOM ‘FROM’ THE MIND, NOT ‘FOR’ THE MIND

Don't try to change the mind. Just be free from the mind. Be clear that freedom is not freedom for the mind; it is freedom from the mind. It is not freedom for the person; it is freedom from the personal idea. Let the mind do what it wants. Who is the mind talking to? Find out who the mind is talking to.

IS ANYTHING PERCEIVABLE WITHOUT YOU?

For anything that you perceive, can it be there without you Being first? Is it possible for any external perception or internal perception of thoughts, memories, etcetera to happen without there first being this light of Being? All that you are aware of IS the world. And if this is understood, then this will clarify everything: All that you are aware of can be called the world. In this very moment, this is the world.

So, Being is born. Look at the transition from the deep sleep state to the waking state. Is it that the world is born first, and then you feel that you are?

Or, first you are there, you are present, the Presence is there, and then for this Presence, the world arrives?

Just look at this transition from the deep sleep state to the waking state. Is there ever a time in the waking state where the world is present without you?

But there are times, even in deep states of meditation where the Presence / Being is there, but the world seems to be absent. And don't force these insights too much. They will just appear naturally. As you marinate in this, all this seeing will be completely clear.

You can also look at the transitions that seem to happen between the dream state and this waking state. So it seemed like you were in one body. Suddenly something is here, and first you were there [in the dream], then you have this [waking state] body; and for a few seconds, you're looking at the body saying ‘where did this body come from?’ So, first you are there, then the body comes.

DEVOTION, BHAKTI

What is happening is, in the heart of the Bhakta everything is handed over to the Master or to God. So the prayer of the Bhakta is that ‘You (referring to God or Master), You are the doer and You are the experiencer’. And when the Bhakta makes his prayer sincerely, then the ego must dissolve; because without doer-ship, the ego does not have any legs to stand on.

With the dissolution of this ego, then the Bhakta realizes that he or she was always actually one with the beloved. And with this experiential realization then the Bhakta also starts speaking these words; because they are just common sense, actually. It's in this way the Bhakta becomes a Jnani also. Jnani is given to the Bhakta as a prasad for his devotion. And exactly the same happens with a Jnani. It could start off as a very intellectual search but more and more ‘I am not this, I am not this, not this’ is seen; that this Being is here, pure Awareness is here. This is seen. And then it goes from an intellectual understanding to a seen experience. And when this experience is there, then the Presence of love, the Presence of peace, the Presence of devotion is all here in full measure; and in this way the Jnani also becomes a Bhakta.

It's like two different legs of the table, you pull one leg but the whole table comes. You pull the Bhakti's leg and Jnani will follow. You pull the Jnani's leg and Bhakti will follow. So it fits into this very beautifully.

ALL OF THIS IS ONLY YOU

There are no other people. All of this is only You. When Being is here then in the light of this very Being, these seeming appearances of other people come. Just like in the dream. Isn't it? Where do those people who seem so real, where do they go after the dream is over? Were they not just projections of your own light? In the same way, all that is appearing here is in the projection of your own light.

So when we say ‘entire world', the world is just what we are aware of now. Just like in the dream. The dream is only what we are aware of then.

IT IS THE MOST OBVIOUS

All that is happening is just happening. The interpreter comes up with concepts like ‘Right or wrong, good or bad, little or too much’. All this measuring, all this judgment comes from the mind itself. Therefore just fire the interpreter. Don't even measure whether you are awake, or asleep; whether you have understood or not understood.

CONSCIOUSNESS ARISES FROM EVER-PRESENT AWARENESS

“Will you explore the movement of Presence to the Absolute with us?”

So let's first clarify what we mean when we say ‘The Absolute’. What we mean when we say Shiva or The Absolute or The Ultimate is nothing but pure and simple Awareness itself. This Awareness is ever-present; you don't have to do anything to find it.

I know that the instant I have said this, many of you are searching for this Awareness. But you have to go nowhere to find this. You are aware right now. This Awareness is ever-present but completely invisible to the mind. Any time you're waiting for the mind's conclusion that ‘I have seen Awareness’ that is bound to be set up for failure. This is prior to the mind. This is the One that is aware of the mind. The mind is not aware of Awareness; Awareness is aware of thoughts. The mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts. So this pure seeing which is ever-present is The Absolute. Without this, we can never say that something existed. There must have been an awareness of it. Only then it can be said to have existed. Therefore this is the Absolute One.

In the deep sleep state, the Absolute One is still present. That's why we are able to say ‘I enjoyed deep sleep. I slept very well. I just woke up’. That means that there was a shift, isn't it? What is the meaning of ‘I just woke up’? There was a point where even the sense that ‘I Am’ was not there; there was no ‘I’ to speak of. It was only the pure Witnessing itself. Then, for some unexplained reason, there is a birth of Beingness from within this pure Seeingness. This is called the birth of Consciousness, Atma, God; whatever word you might like to use. This Being, the sense ‘I Am’, the Presence of ‘I Am’ is here. Once there is the waking state, this implies that the Presence is here.

The present is here because the Presence is here. I marvel at the beauty of language sometimes. The creators of this language must have seen the truth actually, to use the word ‘present’ to denote that when the Presence is here. Therefore ‘present’ must mean coming from the Presence itself. So when we say ‘Be in the now’ or ‘Be here now’ we are saying ‘Be with the simple Presence of Being’. It is that simple.

Then again, when sleep comes, it can be said that the Presence dissolves into seeing itself. All that means is dissolves into the pure Awareness itself. So this is the only movement possible. You can replace ‘waking state’ to also say ‘dream state’ because exactly the same thing happens in the dream state. So this is the movement of Presence that is possible in relation to the Absolute.

Also remember that the Absolute Awareness is all there is. Therefore Presence is also made up of the Absolute alone. Consciousness is a modulation of Awareness itself. In the same way that the projected world is just a modulation of movement in the light of Consciousness itself.

“Awareness has no qualities, yet gives rise to a Being as Consciousness which has qualities.”

Yes. We can say that Being also has the quality of just Being, but in the light of this Being, all qualities seem to arise. The Presence of love seems to arise, the Presence of peace seems to arise, and the seeming opposites also arise. Because the Presence of Being is the birth of the world of duality; everything and its opposites. Coming back to the truth is seeing that this duality is not real, and only Awareness is all that is. All comes from within Awareness itself; it is true. That is the Divine leela as to how, from this pure innocence of no attributes and no qualities, the world of duality can arise.

It is very similar to some scientific ideas of how the Universe was created, isn't it? They say that there was a finite, infinitesimally strong piece of nothing actually, and in that small piece of nothing seemed to have been born time and space which are ever-expanding, constantly expanding, with all this matter and energy; all these forces of gravity and electricity and magnetism, and evolution and all of these forces. Where does it come from? From nothing itself. So science is also coming close to a similar understanding actually.

“So can we say that the Awareness is aware of Consciousness? And that in the pure Seeing appears the pure Being ‘I Am’?”

Exactly what we have been saying. Very good. It's exactly that simple, isn't it? You are aware of Being. Being is not aware of you. Being is just Being. But the awareness of Being belongs to you in some sense, as Awareness itself.

THROW AWAY THE ‘PERSON’

I have to be careful that we don't create the sense of a ‘person’ knowing something, or the ‘person’ being aware of something; because the mind is very quick to jump in and say ‘This is my understanding; as a person now I have understood this’. And with that comes this sense of specialness. There is nothing special in this knowledge. It is the most obvious thing. Throw away the ‘person’ who is feeling special because of knowing something, and throw away the ‘person’ who is feeling frustrated at not understanding.

What does it mean? ‘Throw away the person’ only means just let go of your thoughts. It's simple, simple, simple. Just keep it completely simple. Just let go of your thoughts. If any of this discussion is bothering you, or bringing a sense of frustration, then just keep it aside. Just keep letting go of your next thought. That's all.

And even if this frustration is coming up, it is good. Let it get released like this. Let all specialness get burned. The one that is saying that ‘I am a know-it-all, I must know everything, I must understand everything’…, let this one struggle and die, actually. This one is not You. The pretender can never know the truth. Real knowledge is never of the mind, because the mind can never see anything for itself.

So embrace even the frustration that is coming as grace itself. Let it get burnt out. That's why we say ‘If the heat is too much, or if you can't stand the heat, then stay in satsang’. Many have left actually. Many have left because of this frustration; because it was still coming from a personal perspective and the person is not able to deal with the heat of satsang. Then life seems to play in a way that they leave for a while. But I know completely that in their heart, they know the truth. So they have not actually gone anywhere; and I will meet them soon. This ‘soon’ could be lifetimes away, but I will not let them go.

SATSANG STYLE GAMES

Maybe we're all taking ourselves way too seriously now. Today I felt we could have some fun. What do you say? One of the things which I've noticed is that some of us have picked up this fear of thoughts. We seem to have this fear that thoughts can actually harm us or hurt us in any way. So, let's have some fun with our thoughts; and see that they are completely harmless and they cannot touch us at all. We'll do a series of games. Don't expect anything to happen with these games. Okay? It's just fun.

THE BASEBALL GAME

The first one is a Baseball Game. How do we play this game? We imagine that there is a batter holding a bat in a baseball game. This batter can be our image of ourselves, or it can be our favorite baseball player, or it can be anyone that we like. So, try it out for a minute. Just visualize a batter playing the next ball which will be thrown at him, with a baseball bat in his hand. Yes? This is easy. Just visualize a batsman or a batter who’s waiting for the next pitch to be thrown at him. The visual can be of our own self or of any baseball player that we like or anyone.

This batter is waiting for the pitcher or the bowler to throw the balls. Now this batter is going to hit out every thought that comes. The balls that will be thrown to him are these thoughts, and this batter will hit every ball that comes out of the park.

So you're all ready to play? Visualize a batter who’s waiting for the balls to come. These balls are nothing but thought. So the batter waits. When the thought comes, visualize that the batter is whacking it out of the park. If you miss a few, that's perfectly alright, but you will hit most of them out of the park. Wait for any thought to come. As soon as you recognize a thought, just hit it out of the park.

Very playfully. Very gently. Whatever the thought might be, just visualize that it is being hit out of the park. It might be the most glorious thought, or the most horrid one. Everything must be hit out.

[Silence]

No expectations. All thoughts are allowed to come, to get whacked by the batter.

Remember that all that the mind is saying is a thought, and you can hit it out of the park.

Silence]

If a thought is coming that, ‘Enough of this game’, then that also can be whacked out.

Silence]

Very good. Om Shanti shanti shanti

Does anyone feel they were not able to do it?

“Very good. So funny”

“Really good”

“Laughed and laughed and laughed.”

“Just what I needed.”

“My guard was too tight, so no thoughts had a chance.”

“Harder to bat it out.”

So, bat out the thoughts about it. It's the simplest thing.

These thoughts have no power at all. Yet these same thoughts we take so seriously. We search for so much meaning in all of them. We spend a whole lifetime trying to make sure that we have happy thoughts; that our thoughts are approving of us. What a sham that is, isn't it? We can just let them go. This was a more fun way of letting them go. I don't prescribe this as a ‘practice’ because I don't want this to be done very seriously, like ‘Oh, I'm doing the Batter Meditation’ or anything like that. Just for fun today we're just going to play with thoughts because we've been taking our thoughts so seriously all our lives. Today we say we’ll play some games.

MIND IS LIKE AN ATM MACHINE

Many of you have heard the ATM example. But since this is a Fun Satsang maybe I can repeat the ATM example, because it is a fun example. Our definition of the mind is ‘Any Time Misery’ / ‘ATM’. ‘Any Time Misery’. So how do you get misery out of this ATM machine? You go to the mind. And if you go to the mind, first you put in the ATM card, isn't it? The ATM card means the ‘Attention To Mind’ card: ‘ATM card’. So you put in the ‘Attention To Mind’ card. But just because you put in the ‘Attention To Mind’ card, it doesn't mean that misery is there. You still have to do some more work to get the misery. So what do you do? You give it your Pin Number. You give it your ‘Personal Identification’, that this is ‘my’ thought, this applies to ‘me’, this is true for ‘me’. So once you put the ‘Attention To Mind’ card in, and we've put in our ‘Personal Identification’, then we have an unlimited supply of misery from this ‘Any Time Misery’ machine. But without these two steps, (putting the ‘Attention To Mind’ card in and adding the ‘Personal Identification’ with the thoughts), it is impossible to get misery. In that way we actually work hard to get this misery. If we were not to give it our attention, and personal identification or belief, then we would not be miserable.

THE GAME OF OPPOSITES

So, are you ready for the next game? This next game is The Game of Opposites.

How it is played is: we wait for a thought to come. For example: ‘This is very foolish’. A thought could come that ‘This is very foolish’. Then immediately we attract the opposite thought: ‘This is very great’. We pull out the opposite.

So we can start now. Wait for a thought to come. And whatever the thought is, we attract the next thought which is the exact opposite of that thought. Then we let it go.

[Silence]

Just wait, and be completely open to any thought, and then think the opposite of that thought. Even if no thought is coming, we can say that ‘One thought has come’.

Let all thoughts come. As soon as a thought comes, and is recognized, attract the opposite of that thought, and think the opposite. Very playfully, very gently, just do this for a few minutes.

[Silence] Very good. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

“Only Presence.”

“What to say now?”

“So grateful to be here with you.”

THOUGHTS MEAN NOTHING

You see, all that can be thought about ourselves is nonsense. Every thought we can have about ourselves does not mean anything at all. That ‘I am Free’ means nothing. That ‘I am God’ means nothing. That ‘I am Bound’ means nothing. That ‘I am Waking Up’ means nothing. That ‘I Understand Nothing’ means nothing. That ‘I Know Everything’ means nothing. All are just these energy constructs which we give our beliefs to and make them seem real. They are never actually real. Even all that's said in satsang means nothing. No truth is spoken here. As [Nisargadatta] Maharaj says ‘The only Truth that can be said is that ‘I Am’, and ultimately even that is untrue’. So nothing, nothing, nothing. It's all just nothing.

A thought just arises and we feel that ‘This is really my thought’. But then we realize that once we attract the opposite also, and give it our belief, then that seemed also true, isn't it? Because ultimately, nothing is true. Ultimately, nothing is true. In this way, we see that we don't have to give belief to any thought at all. It's simple, simple, simple; because it's all nothing, nothing, nothing.

“Thank you so much. This game revealed so much.”

“Without thoughts, there's just peace and joy.”

“Yay! Love this. Don't love this.” [Laughs]

“It's all just nothing.”

“Nothing, nothing, nothing.”

Thoughts can also exist, but without our belief in thoughts, it's only peace and joy.

THE BEAUTIFUL NEUTRALITY

“I'm just seeing that the thought ‘You, Ananta, my Guru’ is also thought. Letting it go.”

Yes. Ananta is not the Guru. The Guru is the Presence which is already inside your Heart without belief in any thought. That which requires belief in thought is not true. So don't believe any thought or the opposite of any thought. Just be in the beautiful neutrality. Don't say ‘Ananta is my Guru’ and don't say ‘Ananta is not my Guru’. Then the truth is really revealed here. No desire; no aversion. That is neutrality. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

A ONE-MINUTE GAME

Are you all having fun? You ready for one more? Every one minute, I will ask you to count the number of thoughts that came. Just count the number of thoughts that came. When I say ‘start’ you can start counting the number of thoughts. Until I say ‘stop’ keep counting all your thoughts.

Start. ……….. [after one minute has passed] ...and Stop.

How many thoughts did you count? [Sangha calls out numbers counted]

[Laughing] The number is completely irrelevant.

“All my thoughts were about counting thoughts.”

“Most of the thoughts were numbers and telling you about them.”

THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE SEEING OF THE THOUGHT AND THE THOUGHT ITSELF

In all of these games, whether you know it or not, there is a great distance being created between the seeing of the thought and the thought itself. You can see very clearly that you can never be this thought. You have never been these thoughts. We see that very clearly now. You have never been these thoughts and the thoughts are all rubbish. They mean nothing, actually. All of them can just be allowed to come and go.

“Throwing all my seriousness out.”

“Thoughts cannot touch what I am. All nonsense”

“Even beautiful thoughts; all of them nonsense.”

Beauty does not need to rely on thoughts. Truth does not rely on thought. Only the false relies on thought.

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE GAME

We can do one more: Visualize that you have three Chinese bowls, like the zen bowls; or visualize that you have three small buckets. These three bowls or buckets are of three colors: There is a red one, there is a green one, and there is a blue one.

So in the red one, you will put all the thoughts about the past.

In the green one, you will put all the thoughts about the future.

In the blue one will be all the thoughts about the present.

Red for past, green for future, and blue for present.

Just wait for the thoughts to come. When the thought comes, just see whether it's about the past, future, or present; and put it in the right bucket or bowl, whatever you are visualizing. Remember: Red for past, Green for future, Blue for present.

Let all thoughts come now. You can start now and I will tell you when to stop.

[About three minutes later]: Very good. Om. Shanti, shanti, shanti.

So, what do you feel? How are your buckets?

What is the biggest bucket, or the one that is most full?

Which bucket was the most full and which was the least full?

“Sitting in the empty blue bucket, laughing at the other empty buckets.”

“Past overflows. Future, just a few. Present, none. Really all are included in ‘present’.”

“All in ‘present’ bucket, but I needed a yellow imagination bucket.”

“Future bucket was fullest.”

“Present most, future least full.”

“Now fullest. Future, least full.

“Future and present same: most.”

“Red bucket thoughts of future, and present also, seem like past.”

“Past. All is past for me.”

“Present bowl. Past, some.”

“All seems past. All seem to be past when they arrived.”

“Mostly, I was just full of love for you.”

We're actually playing this game of thoughts all the time.

“All mostly ‘now’ thoughts. Some future. Past thoughts looked for, but they were buried. Need a shovel.” [Laughing]

“Just seemed past and future were thoughts ‘now’. So all belonged in ‘now’ bucket.”

It can be said in both ways actually. In one way we can say that all belong in ‘now bucket’. In the second way, we can say the thought can never speak anything about the now actually. What can a thought say about the now? Whatever it has to say must be about the past, or some projection about the future. What can a thought truly say about the now? You know what I'm saying? What can a thought really say about the present, the true Now? The mind is unable to access the Now.

“To be honest, thoughts are not clear. Takes effort to figure out what kind of thought.”

See? When I say ‘it is effort to pick up thoughts’ some of you don't believe me. Now when you make it a game to pick up, you say ‘it is effort’. It's very good. This is a beautiful realization, that it is effort to pick up thoughts. In our natural state, it is too much effort to pick up thoughts.

“So much thoughts about thoughts.”

We're losing the fear of these thoughts; losing the sense of running from them now. They are allowed to come and go. We realize it is so much effort to get involved with them.

“Thoughts appear to overlap.”

Yes. But there can never be two thoughts at the same time. It might seem fast, but you'll see that, just like this voice can only say one word at a time, in the same way the mind is also like this. That's a good observation to verify. Just validate this.

“I was geared up for a serious day; you have ruined my plans.” [Laughing]

Very beautiful. If there is just this one thing we see today, it is to see that it is SO much work to pick up these thoughts. Isn't it?

“To enjoy the play of mind. What else is there to do now?”

That was fun?

Thank you.

Very beautiful being with all of you.

ARE YOU A PERSON?

We speak about letting life unfold on its own and not being attached to what comes as a result of the action. So the question is ‘Does that affect our motivation? Does this make us less productive?’ All these questions can come. But this is presuming that for us to do what is required, we need this motivation.

WHAT IS MOTIVATION?

Motivation is the belief in the thought that ‘I need to make sure I get to this point by this time. I need to make sure that I am here on this particular level. I need to make sure that this is my roadmap, and this is what actually will work out’. And it presumes that ‘Once I believe in this, then I am taking all the actions which are necessary to get me there’. So that is the root belief of motivation.

But if you look back at our lives, you will see that life unfolded the way it had to, irrespective of what our plans were.

The second thing it presumes is that ‘I must be an individual entity who is the doer of some action’. So this is a little ‘deeper’. To evaluate that I have a separate existence as a person, only then does it make sense for me to have an individual doership, which requires constantly being motivated and reinforced with thought, isn't it? But when we look for this person, this person is not to be found actually. So for me, the first step is: If you want to do something for someone, first mustn’t we to find out who that someone is?

We keep catering to this mythical someone, without really zeroing in on ‘Okay, this is the one I am catering to’. So I say ‘Okay, I invented the belief that I am a person, and this person should achieve all of these things’. Can we not first get to the root of what this person is? Too far out?

Usually when we say that this person actually does not exist, the first reaction you are met with is ‘What are you saying? It's clear, I am here. I am this person’. Then I say ‘Okay, tell me about this ‘I’, tell me about this ‘person’. What are you really sure about when it comes to this person?’

I can tell you what I discovered when I looked, and you can see if that tallies in. When I looked, I found that there were just a bunch of ideas. It's a bunch of ideas that something is believing. We have not been able to identify what is believing those ideas. We have just assigned a label called ‘me’. So let's not assign a label to anything until we see what is clear. That is the spirit of scientific inquiry. Let’s not label anything until we actually see it.

There was this belief that ‘I should be in the Merchant Navy’. So that became part of me. There could be a belief that ‘I want to be a scientist’. There could be a belief that ‘I want to be a great software developer’. There can be any belief that comes. Then we see that the personality develops towards that. We seem to start taking all the actions towards that. We start believing that ‘I belong in the Merchant Navy’ or whatever. So this idea came. Did we create it?

“I think ‘yes’.”

So, tell me what your next idea is going to be? If we are the creator of our idea, then we must know that ‘I am going to create this idea’. But if you were to look, you will see that it just pops up. It actually just pops up.

“Yes, the ideas do just pop up.”

Yes. Any thought just pops up and then we say ‘It is my thought’. Who is this ‘my’ whose thought it is? Is it the body's thought? It's clearly not the body's thought. So, that's good. Then who is this ‘my’ whose thought this is?

So, what we have got to so far is that: A thought comes, and once this thought is believed in then it becomes part of this person that I believe myself to be. Isn't it? Now if this thought did not come, then this would not be part of my persona, personality, whatever you want to call it. We also see that as time goes along, some older thoughts get discarded, and newer thought keep being put in. So the person seems to be this malleable entity. So ten years ago if I were to say ‘What are your beliefs? What are you truly about?’ then you would tell me ‘I believe this, and this is the way life is, and this is what it should be like’. Today I talk to you; maybe some of those ideas still survive but many of them would have gone, and new ones would have come.

Therefore we cannot find anything but a set of ideas about this person. These ideas also keep changing. So it becomes a very unreliable thing to bank on this person. Tomorrow, you could wake up and say, ‘What am I doing? What is this life? I should be riding a Harley Davidson, there should be some babes around me. I have wasted my life so far’. This could come. And if these thoughts come and belief is given to them, then in a span of a few months your life would look completely different. Isn't it? So to rely on this identity of personhood is nothing but asking for suffering, because it is constantly changing.

“Even Buddha says something like: You become what your thoughts are.”

‘We have been discussing about ‘The concept of me, the concept of the person that I believe myself to be, is only made up of the thoughts’. Isn't it? So it is not that you in reality become your thoughts. If I believe that ‘I should be focusing more on business’, if this thought comes, then my persona becomes more business oriented. So that is what they are referring to most likely; that what we believe ourselves becomes, as a result of what we have thought about, as if it is true to us. So a thought came that ‘I should be like this’ and that becomes me.

CAN WE FIND SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT CHANGE?

So far what we have seen that is that the person entity is not clearly defined. It seems to be made up of a certain set of ideas which exist. We also said that people change. What that means is that the concepts that we have about ourselves are constantly changing. I can guarantee you that if I were to not see you for the next ten years, and I meet you again in ten years, it would be a very different person that I would meet. We also want the other person to be stable. ‘This is what you promised, this is what you believed, this is what you agreed’. We want complete freedom for ourselves, but we are not willing to give freedom to the world. We say ‘I should be completely free, free, free, but the world should be according to my whims and fancies’. We want that stability that everyone around us should be according to my projections of what that relationship is. Isn't it? But that again is bound to cause suffering because the person is a constantly changing entity.

So when we rely on someone to be exactly the same way they were, or as was agreed, it's a very fertile ground for all of this misery, because we want stability and we don't want that person to change at all. But the nature of personhood is constant change.

Then the question comes: Can we find something that does not change? Because if we want stability, then can we find that which does not change? Because this constantly changing thing is becoming very difficult to keep up with. I cannot even rely on myself because I am also constantly changing. So what is that we can rely on to never change? This idea is worth contemplating because in this there could be a lot of peace and happiness, which is what we are looking for.

Since our birth to now, what has been constant? Our bodies, every few years every cell gets replaced. So what that body was, which was born, is not this body. That is not constant. Our thoughts are constantly changing, so thoughts are not constant. Emotions are constantly changing, so emotions are not constant. So what has been constant? Can you find that which has been ever-constant?

We said that the person idea seems to be just a group of these ideas that are constantly changing and I cannot find who can say ‘I am the person’. On the other hand, in the phenomenal universe there seems to be all of this going on, and it seems to be happening in a beautiful pattern, in evolution. Who keeps track of evolution? Who says that a human’s brain should be bigger in the next generation? The people who live in the wild, how do their skin colors become adaptive to the environment that they live in? Who is keeping track? There is no committee who is keeping track and saying ‘Change this like this’. Isn't it?

There is seems to be a Supreme Intelligence somewhere which is driving all of this. This One I cannot deny in the phenomenal world. The ‘person’ I'm able to deny, but this One I'm not able to deny. There’s no person that is beating my heart also. Who has decided it needs to be 70 beats per minute or something like that? It seems to be happening constantly, isn't it? This One I would be more reliant on to run my life also. And I see that because I cannot find the person who made those decisions, I cannot find the person who gives belief to the thought also.

“How do we go with His will always, and not deviate or get distracted with our will?”

This is a question which is very interesting because it still presumes that there is an individual will, which basically presumes that there is an individual first. So what we are actually searching for, in all satsangs, in all these discussions is: Where is this individual? And, if the individual is only an idea, then does an idea have a will? Does an idea have a will? When we look in this, we will see very openly that all has ever been this appearance in this Consciousness itself. When it appeared then I started taking credit for it, like ‘This is my action’ or ‘I did this’ or ‘I did not do this’.

This is our basic nature, that ‘I am the thinker of my thought, I am the doer of my action’. But when asked ‘Can you find this one who is thinking; can you find the one who is doing?’ then we say we are not able to find. But we say ‘It is obvious. Everybody believes it’. But it's not true. Just because everybody believes it does not make it true; because people believed all kinds of nonsense in the past also.

You know the beauty of all of this? This means this understanding also is Consciousness speaking to Consciousness; or Consciousness understanding the truth about itself.

ABOUT SURRENDER

Let’s look at surrender. First, I feel that we can understand that the surrender is only a realization. Surrender is only a realization, it is not an action. It is the realization that I have always been surrendered. All that is happening is through Consciousness or God or Guru or whatever label you want to put on it; all that is happening is happening through this Consciousness itself. So firstly we can remember that surrender is not a doing, it is a realization. We realize that there was no individual person here ever to do anything, including the surrender itself. Because as long as we are surrendering from a personal perspective it is still with the concept that ‘There is a need here that is going to be fulfilled’. There is a personal need-fulfillment which accompanies a lot of surrender, and that is what we referred to as half-surrender.

HALF-SURRENDER

We look at surrender as two parts, as one of the ancient Indian scriptures has said. It is said ‘Tvam Karta, Tvam Bhogta’ which means ‘Thou art the doer and Thou art the experiencer’. Very often what happens is we have this half-surrender, and half- surrender means ‘You are the doer, but I am still the experiencer’. So when we are surrendering we are saying ‘Okay, I agree to surrender to you, but make sure that my life is still going well’. You see this? Then it is not surrender; then it is actually deal making. So this is one variety of half-surrender which is that ‘You are the doer but I am still the experiencer’.

So it is not complete. The complete realization is that the doer and the experiencer are one; and ultimately I am the pure witness of all of this. I am the pure witness of the doing and the experiencing. When doership is taken away, then the realization will also come that ‘Who is the experiencer here?’ as well. Is it not the same Consciousness which is doing and experiencing also? Yes.

A second variety is to say that ‘All the good actions are happening to me because I did the right things’. Many of us have this victim belief which means that ‘All the good happening in my life is because I am doing it, and all the bad happening is God's doing or Guru's doing’. So we never ask God in the good times ‘Oh God, why are you doing this to me?’ Do we? So this is also half-surrender; which means that ‘All the good I take credit for’ but all that seems to be causing suffering, we give the blame to God. This is another type of half-surrender.

Another type of illusory surrender is to say that ‘I surrender something to you, but with the expectation that it will get sorted out according to my mind’. So it is not really surrender anyway, is it? It is very specific sort of surrender saying ‘I surrender this problem to you, but please make sure it goes in a certain way’. Then that is not surrender at all, isn't it? It is only because we have run out of moves; but we are still holding on to the concept of how things should be, or how life should be, that we made this kind of offering.

A better prayer would be to say that ‘I surrender this to you, and whatever Thy will is, may that be done’. A beautiful line which denotes surrender is ‘Let Thy will be done’. With this simple statement alone, freedom cannot be far; because then we stop resisting all the appearances which are appearing. And ego is another name for resistance. So another name for surrender could be complete acceptance. ‘Let Thy will be done’.

VIGILANCE TO THE DYING BREATH

“When ego can act like a jerk, it is Consciousness seeing it, and saying sorry; showing us its unreality?”

Yes. This is a very subtle point, which is that very quickly the ego itself can hold onto the concept of freedom, to say that ‘I-as-a-person am free now, and hence that makes me special’. So when Adyashanti said ‘[You say you're awake, but can you see that] you are acting like a jerk now?’ then what he is saying is that ‘You are operating out of this personal sense of specialness’. That's why many teachers caution us against the premature end to the inquiry. That is why Papaji also said ‘Vigilance to the dying breath’.

We can smell it actually. As Consciousness, we know very well where something is coming from. Is it coming from the smell of personhood? Does it have the aroma of pure Presence, or does it have the stink of an ego? So if we are vigilant, if we are open to this, then it is simply seen. Because pure Presence is accompanied by the Presence of love, peace, and joy; and what is personal is always accompanied with the sense of need or a sense of specialness.

Of course, ultimately it is Consciousness itself which is playing all this. All this role-playing is playing in Consciousness itself. Even the spiritual ego is acted out in the play of Consciousness itself as part of this divine play. So it seems like Consciousness itself has taken on the role of the spiritual ego, and it says that ‘I am special’. Then again the Master has to whack this special sense of ego; and that is also a play of Consciousness.

It is true ultimately that Consciousness is untouched by all of this play, and witnessing is far from all of this; but those seem to be the designated roles that Consciousness has given to itself, and it will play out in this way. So if it is clear that ‘I am this Beingness itself’ or even that ‘This Beingness arises from within me’ then no specialness can actually come. So in the role of the Master, how it gets played out is anytime there is the smell of something special then there is bound to be a whack which chops it away. But all is Consciousness, that's right.

“Since Consciousness is doing everything always, yet it seems to act out, how not to just say ‘That is just Consciousness doing it, and my feeling of regret is Consciousness experiencing’?”

As long as this ‘my’ is not a person, as long as the ‘I’ in this is not a person, then it is absolutely fine. Otherwise we are just paying testimony to Consciousness, we are saying ‘Consciousness is doing and Consciousness is experiencing’ but the smell in it still conveys the smell of a personal ‘I’. So it is just using Consciousness as a concept. When the Master detects that it is just being used as a concept actually as an ego defense, then he will not let that situation continue. Otherwise he can sense that it is coming from the pure space of Consciousness itself. Usually you will see that there is a type of people into Advaita who are using these sentences that ‘All is Consciousness’ and ‘Who is giving satsang? Who is the student? Who is the teacher?’ You can smell the arrogance on it. You feel that there is a person there who is pretending to have understood something.

When there is pure love flowing through the same sentence, through the same phrases, you can smell that it is dipped in love and peace. Then you know that Presence itself is speaking, without the contamination of ego stuff.

“Trying to transcend an ego that is seen, but still active.”

It is absolutely fine. That's what satsang is for. It is the game of Consciousness itself. So it is Consciousness itself saying to Consciousness ‘Why do you still pretend to be a person?’ You understand? So it is not two people who are responsible; one for communicating this message and the other person responsible for receiving this message. It is just pure Consciousness itself which is speaking to another part of Itself saying ‘Why do you continue to delude yourself in this way? Isn't the game over now?’ It's all part of the game.

“So, the guilt feeling about something not going right in life, it is also from ego?”

Yes, completely. It first presumes that ‘I must be a separate individual’ and then presumes that this separate individual has the power to do something or not. So this presumption that ‘I must be a separate individual’ itself is ego. You see?

When we call it ‘ego’ it seems like it is something that is far, or ‘I don't have an ego’. You know? But the minute we say that it is ‘the sense of being a person’ then it is seen that there is some ego in all. Even in the great awakened ones, the ego is left behind like a burnt rope.

“Is that also half-surrender?”

Yes. In this, I don't see the surrender at all. Guilt feeling, something not going right in life, is complete non-surrender, isn't it?

JUST SAY ‘YES’

“Surrender is the same as ‘yes’? That is my experience; like: Yes! ‘Yes’ is what I am. You are saying surrender is what I am. Is this correct seeing?”

The Master says ‘Just say ‘yes’ to reality. Just say ‘yes’ to the truth. Have this big ‘yes’ inside’. So, in that way, it can be said that this ‘yes’ is the same as surrender. Because in this ‘yes’ there is acceptance of what is. So when we say this ‘yes’ it means it is a dropping of all the resistances; it is a dropping of ‘no’ and of all the ‘shoulds’ and the ‘coulds’ which are gone with this ‘yes’. This is surrender.

But I am not saying ‘Surrender is what you are’. I am saying that what you are is this Consciousness itself; and ultimately the pure Awareness even of this Consciousness is what you are. Surrender is just a realization that this Consciousness itself is doing everything, that this Consciousness is the one doer and the one experiencer.

So surrender is this understanding that all is being done by Consciousness to Consciousness, and what you are is this Consciousness itself; and ultimately even this is not true. What you are is the Awareness even of this.

In the true state of surrender there is no resistance, and the Presence of ‘I Am’ is completely perceived. It is also seen that ‘I am beyond this ‘I Am’ as well’. Awareness is before ‘I Am’, isn't it?

SURRENDER IS NOT PASSIVITY

This is one aspect of surrender that we discussed. The other aspect which I am feeling to discuss, so that it is a more complete discussion on surrender, is to say that many times surrender gets confused with passivity; gets confused with non-doing. This is a little subtle, so stay with me.

In a manner of speaking, when the ego hears that ‘I am not the doer’ then it says ‘Okay, if that is the true understanding, I will not do anything now’. It says ‘I will remain passive, and no matter what comes, I will not get up from my bed’. You see what is happening? There is a ‘doing’ of ‘non-doing’ which is happening in this. There is a ‘doing’ of sitting on the bed; even that is a ‘doing’.

The ego’s idea of both ‘doing’ and ‘non-doing’ is actually doership. It is actually just perpetuating doership. You see this? So both the ideas of doing something and not doing something arrive from this belief in doership. Either that there is a doer here who is doing something; or there is a doer here but it has decided not to do something. But this doer does not exist as a separate entity. No person is the doer of anything at all. You see? So this is one misconception which many egos take on and say ‘Okay, so I have heard that I am not the doer, so let me just sit in bed’.

The other misconception is that, like Adyashanti was saying that day, we go around just behaving very badly and then saying that ‘It is all Consciousness doing it’. The words are true, that ‘It is still Consciousness which is doing all of this’. So ultimately it is a game, at that level. But it is the ‘person’ who says that ‘I have understood that I am not the doer, hence I am free to do anything at all’. You see? It is a little subtle, and there is a huge potential for ‘level confusion’ here. So just stay with me.

What we are talking about is the ‘person’ who comes to satsang; and the full realization that they are pure Beingness or pure Awareness has not dawned on them. So this person takes on the idea of the passivity, or the recklessness of doing anything and blaming Consciousness. Their words will still smell of personhood. All of this is using Advaitic concepts from a personal perspective to defend the ego itself.

That's why we say: have a beautiful neutrality towards everything; neither doing nor not-doing. Just let everything unfold. That is why in the instruction ‘Let go of your next thought’ it is already captured. Because both this egoic doing or not-doing cannot happen without our belief in some thought. It is simple to see whether it is coming from a thought place, or it is just unfolding spontaneously.

“Already surrendered means just not the idea of person, is that right?”

When we are saying ‘already surrendered’ or ‘I have never been not surrendered’ this is saying that, from a personal perspective, there has never been a person here to have done anything at all!

That is why I feel that, although we are getting into the depths of surrender today, that the pointing is still simple. The pointing is still to let go of your next thought. It's that simple. Don't feel you have to become an expert on the topic of surrender. It's just that some of these words might open up something inside you, and that is why they are being spoken. Let them just be heard through Being itself. Don't feel that you have to understand something very specifically. Very good.

“Yes. A doing of non-doing. This is very nice to see.”

These are all the tricks of the mind. You can say ‘I am not-doing’ and that itself is the doing. It's like my Master jokes and says ‘We say be natural, so you try to be natural’. When we say be natural, immediately there is a sense of being conscious, and the naturalness automatically goes. This is the same as this non-doing idea.

“So, no person is the doer, therefore hard to understand it when you say ‘it smells like a person’ or whatever.”

Excellent question. When we say that ‘I see that this box of tissues is in front’ [holds a box of tissues in front of him], we say that this box of tissues is there. But ultimately we know that this box of tissues is a projection of Consciousness, you see? So what happens is that when we are operating in the phenomenal world, we will see that ‘I see this table, I see this computer’ but it is true that all of it is a projection of Consciousness.

When you smell something, (suppose some food was there and you smell it), you say ‘Wow, nice aroma’. So in the same way we say ‘It smells like a person’. We know that ultimately all is a projection of Consciousness itself, there is no doubt about that. But in the phenomenal world, the way it is playing out, it is Consciousness itself which is playing out like the ego, and it is Consciousness itself which is playing out as a Master which is saying ‘It is still smelling from a personal place’.

“I had a period of Consciousness-sponsored bad behavior.”

Yes, yes. [Laughs] That's why I'm questioning all of this. We can be vigilant against all of these tendencies, isn't it?

All this understanding, whatever is seeping through, will make it very easy to let go of all our thoughts. Some thoughts still seem to carry some juice, some attraction. Then we can say ‘Okay, this is just ego pretending to be the non-doer or ego pretending to be Consciousness doing things in a certain way’. Then we are able to easily let go. If there is a letting go of all these thoughts, then no other instruction is required.

“I always think ‘Just be the one we are’. Does it mean something?”

When we say ‘Just be what you are’ or ‘Just be the one that you are’ is like saying ‘Just be the Self’. And how to be this? Does it require a ‘doing’ of some sort to be the one we are? Because we are already that. Then what effort is required to be this one? Is it not just the letting go of effort itself? If there is effort in just being the one we are, then maybe we are trying to be like a picture of what we should be. When all thoughts are let go, then it is clearly seen that ‘I am the pure witnessing of all that is emerging anyway, and this is the one that I Am’.

“Sometimes I feel like I live hiding out in misunderstanding.”

Just let go of all of this concept also. All of these concepts can also be let go of now.

I know that you are the Self Itself. All of you are the Self Itself. We are all the Self Itself. It is all being played out in different ways; it doesn't mean that you actually become that. Just because we are playing the role of the ego, just because Consciousness is playing the role of the ego doesn't mean it actually becomes the ego. But when these roles are being played out, then there will be one [the Master] who says that ‘the ego is being played out’, and there will be the one [who comes to satsang] which is playing out the ego. This is the play of Maya itself. So let go of any guilt about any concept that you have carried. That is the only thing that you can do, is let go of it now.

“Doesn't feel like I do anything, it just comes. A jerk moment acts out.”

Exactly. It's exactly that. It's true that Consciousness itself is acting like the ego, and it is seen that it acted like the ego and it did this, that's all. Before I met Mooji, there was a lot of spiritual ego, I must say. All Master’s grace and life itself which wiped out all of this.

“Because ‘Let go of your next thought’ after an acting-out latent-tendency is seen, still feels like a there is a need to say ‘sorry’, give it up, etc. Otherwise it seems that the ‘Consciousness is the doer’ idea IS the jerk.”

It depends from where we are speaking. If we are speaking as Consciousness itself then it is okay to say ‘All of this was a play’. If we are speaking from a personal perspective, then we can say that ‘The jerk got acted out’ or ‘I was being a jerk in those days’. You see? So when we are speaking ultimately, it is clear that all was just happening on its own, even the spiritual ego.

“But ‘person-I’ is not purposely doing it either. Awareness/Witnessing is always here, yet it continues.”

Yes. Witnessing and Awareness is ever-present.

IN THE RIGHT NOW, WE ARE COMPLETELY FREE

“Nothing that ‘I-the-person’ can really do to undo myself, but say ‘yes’.”

This ‘yes’ is enough. ‘Yes’. So let's look at it very logically. The Being itself carries the person idea, and the manifestation of this comes into satsang. This manifestation of this Being, which carries the person idea, says that ‘I want to be free from my suffering’. The Master gives a set of instructions which take away the person idea. It is helpful, while the person idea is there, for the sake of understanding, to refer to the person as ‘the person’ sometimes. It is said that ‘You must do this; you must let go of your thoughts’. If we immediately say that ‘You are Consciousness itself’ maybe it will not be understood. It is only Consciousness which is not understanding; but in the roles that we are playing it seems to play out in this way, that it might not be understood that way. Therefore the words that seem to emerge are addressing the ‘person’ as ‘a person’ for a while, until there is complete openness and we say that ‘You are Consciousness itself, or You are Awareness itself’.

So when the switch-over of power is happening between the ‘person’ idea and the clarity of Beingness then, in the middle sometimes, this ‘level confusion’ can seem a little irritating. But you will come to a point where you will see no dichotomy in this; because it will be seen that what is being referred to is to de-condition the Being from the ‘personal idea’. You will see that what is addressing Being is Being itself. There will not be any confusion about this. I feel that we have captured now many of the important concepts around surrender, which could be very useful actually.

“I realize I have been using surrender as a doing, when stuck in inquiry, overwhelmed, uncertain. Now there is confusion, but just saying ‘yes’ to all that arrives.”

This is a very good point, because it seems like when we let go of the doing and the non-doing, and the concept of surrender itself is let go of, then it seems a little unsteady for a while. It seems like we have no legs to stand on, everything has become a little shaky. Because we seem to have hung on to concepts for a long time, when we let go of them we feel like we are just floating. But if you can get used to this unsteadiness for a while, you will see that it is your natural state of freedom itself which is not relying on any concept, and there is nowhere that you can fall.

You are All There Is, so nothing will happen. So let all these fears get released, hand them over. All will be well.

FROM SELF-INQUIRY TO JOY BEYOND WORDS

Today we can speak a little bit about inquiry as well. Maybe we can take some of these terms, which we use so often, and look at them closely, at what they really imply. I feel that with many of these terms now, there is still a lot of misconception about what it means.

SELF INQUIRY

So, when we say ‘Self Inquiry’ what is it that we are really saying? What is the inquiry really about? What is it that we want to find out?

Ultimately, what we are looking for is an answer to the root question. We start off by looking for an answer to the root question which is ‘Who am I?’ We can say ‘Who am I?’ or even we can say ‘What am I?’ The inquiry starts off with this simple question. It is greatly auspicious in this play when there is openness towards the simple question ‘Who am I?’ There must already be some seeing, isn't there? There must be some seeing that ‘I cannot be this person’. Only then can there be an openness to this question.

If there is total conviction in the belief of being an ego, total conviction in the belief of being a person, then the question will face so much resistance. And because this question faces so much resistance, it is good to have a Master who you have faith in, who you trust, who you love. Because if the question is asked by somebody that you trust, that you love, then this trust and this love will help in overcoming the resistance coming from your own mind.

The Inquiry is just a simple questioning about our true nature: ‘What am I in reality?’

Initially there seems to be a process prescribed as to how this inquiry can be done and this aligns very well with the ancient Indian process called ‘Neti-Neti’ which means ‘Not that-Not that’. Basically what we are saying is that whatever is clearly not me, that, we are keeping aside. So we say ‘This world which is appearing through my senses, this world of objects and phenomena is ever changing, but I am here witnessing this change. I am the constant in this, but this world is ever-changing. Therefore, I cannot be this’. We say ‘Not that’.

In one swoop we have thrown out all the phenomenal existence of the world saying ‘I am not that’.

Then we turn inward and we see ‘What else could I be?

What else could I be if I am not an object in the world?'

Also, when we look at the body, we see that ‘I cannot be just the sum of what I seem to have eaten. I cannot be just made up of the food that has been consumed. There is something more to me than that. This body is also constantly changing and I am the witness of this change also. This body is changing all the time, but I am looking at this and I don't seem to be changing. Therefore, I cannot be this body’. So we say ‘Not the world and not the body also, which is part of the appearance’.

'Then, what else can I be?'

'Can I be the thoughts? A thought would come and a thought could go. It is constantly coming and going. It is coming and it is going and there seems to be a witnessing of these thoughts. I seem to be the witness of these thoughts. I don't seem to be the content of it. Therefore even this thought, I am not. The mind appears to be only a bundle of these thoughts. These thoughts, including thoughts of past which is called memory, thoughts like imagination; all these are also witnessed by me but I don't seem to be any of them. So I am not that also. Then, who am I? I am not the world. I am not the body. I am not the thoughts’.

'Then, who am I?’

'What else is there? Can I be my emotions? One minute there is anger, second minute there is joy, another time there is frustration, and another time there is peace. I am aware of all of this and I seem to be the witnessing of these. It does not seem like I am any of these changing emotions also. Therefore, I am not that. Then, who am I? Not these emotions also’.

'Then, who am I?'

'Then I see that prior to all of this there appears to be the sense that ‘I Am’. Only when ‘I Am’, all these other phenomena come into play. It seems like ‘I Am Being'. That there is a Being here. This Being seems to have a beautiful Presence, pure innocence, unassociated with any other concept; just the pure Beingness itself, just the sense that ‘I Am’.

It is not the thought ‘I am’. Many of us mistake the sense ‘I Am’ to be the thought ‘I am’. This Being is prior to thought.

In the simplest way, to become aware of this Being is to ask ‘Can I stop Being now?’

There can be a time when there is no thought, but I am still Being. Isn't it?

This Being is ever-present. In the waking states and the dream state, this Being is always present.

But even then we ask: ‘Is there is something which is aware of even this pure Being?’

This pure Consciousness itself, there is awareness of it. Isn't it? Even this Consciousness seems to come and go. When I am asleep, even this Presence ‘I Am’ is not there. But I am aware of its presence and absence also. I am able to report that ‘in deep sleep, it was not there’. So I am not even this Consciousness’.

'Then, who am I?'

What seems to be left now is only the pure Witnessing of all of this. There is a witnessing of all of this. It is the Witnessing itself which is witnessing itself.

Therefore in the simple question ‘Are you aware now?’ we see that Awareness is aware of itself. This Awareness seems to be all there is: the unmoving, untouched witnessing to all that exists.

'I am this which no words can accurately describe’.

This simple seeing is the fruit of the Self Inquiry.

Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

So, we see that the inquiry starts off with a question, but if all that you have at the end of the inquiry is a verbal answer, this smart answer is not the end of the inquiry.

It is just the simple seeing that ‘I am this pure Witnessing itself. I am this pure Awareness itself’. In this simple seeing, there is no room left for a personal identity. No person can exist here at all.

ARE YOU ABLE TO CONFIRM THIS?

When I ask you ‘What is seen that you are able to confirm this?’ is there an object that was seen? Is there a phenomenon that was seen that you're able to confirm that ‘I am aware'? No. It is just Awareness is aware of itself. In the simplest possible way.

But if we keep waiting for the mind's confirmation that ‘Yes, yes, this is it’ the mind will not say that. It will always say ‘Almost there. A little bit more. Just one more satsang. One more season with Mooji’. You know? Something like that it will say. But, you are aware right now.

What is aware? It is Awareness itself which knows awareness. You did not see an object to answer this question, and no object saw Awareness to confirm this answer. It is just Awareness being aware of Awareness itself.

Don't give these words to the mind. The mind will always say ‘This is too abstract, too confusing’. The question is very simple: ‘Are you aware now?’ The answer always comes with a momentary clarification inside that ‘Yes’. It is as simple as that.

“Who is doing the inquiry?”

There is only one doer of all actions. This ‘one doer’ is Consciousness itself. So it is Consciousness itself which deluded itself to believe that it is a person, and it is Consciousness itself which comes in the form of the Master and says ‘No, but you are not a person’. This is the Divine Lila. The one Consciousness plays the role of the deluded and the one who is pointing towards freedom from delusion. It is the same doer, the one doer and the one experiencer, who also does the inquiry to rid itself of the misbelief that it is a person.

THE PERSON CONCEPT

In this ‘person’ idea lies the root of suffering. I see a lot of struggle still happening for many from a personal perspective, in trying to understand this which is beyond a person.

So to you I want to say: First, show me who is trying to understand. Where is this person who is trying so hard to understand? Is it the body who is trying to understand? Or is it the thought which is trying to understand? Is it an emotion which is trying to understand? What is trying to get this? Who is trying to understand this? You see? So first, let us start from there.

Before trying to understand some content, before trying to gain some new knowledge, can we identify who is this which is trying to get some knowledge or get some understanding? Many times, we create an aversion to this question. But I feel it is an essential question; more essential than trying to understand the content of it. Who is trying to get free?

“It seems thought is trying to understand.”

Yes, but the thought is just a thought. It is a thought which arrives like words from the mouth, and it has a particular message. But this energy which is carrying this particular message, can it actually understand something? Does it have the potential to understand? So it cannot be a thought which is trying to understand. Can we locate this thought which is trying to understand?

“Seeing.”

‘Seeing’ is trying to understand. But the seeing is just pure seeing; the pure witnessing, Awareness. Is it this Awareness trying to understand? Does it have any knowledge at all? Is it concerned with anything at all?

“It seems that it is intellectually understood that the person is not here.”

Yes, and it is not bad to intellectually understand; but today we're trying to see for ourselves that the person is here or not. I'm not even saying in the beginning that the person is not there. But I'm saying: Okay, give reality to all this phenomenon; suppose all of this is real. Even in this phenomena, show me what or where the person is.

“The seeing is just seeing.”

Seeing has no interest in any knowledge, in any concept of freedom; of anything at all.

“I do not know.”

Yes. It's good. This ‘do not know’ is much better than presuming that the person is there. To get to the ‘do not know’ stage is very good actually.

“It seems there is a body / mind / emotion complex…”

Yes, but let's break it down. So, you say ‘body’. Body is here, and let's presume it's real; ‘mind’ in the sense that there are thoughts and similar energies like imagination, memories, they are there; then emotion is there. What makes it a complex? What makes it one organism? You see? Where is this complex? Where is it located?

“…which is a response mechanism.”

It seems like that. But today we are seeing through this game completely; we're seeing through the program completely. We're looking through the matrix.

“I don't know either, if it is not though trying.”

Can we find out where the trying is first? Where is the trying?

“A sense of self is trying to understand.”

Yes, that's what we're looking for today.

“Nothing, nothing, nothing.”

“It seems here that my imaginary self imagines a lack of understanding.”

[Laughs] ‘My imaginary self imagines a lack of understanding’. Yes. Or, one of the attributes of this imagined one seems to be the lack of understanding. You identified something very nice, and we should spend a couple of minutes on this.

There are two positions for this imagined one. One position that it takes is that there is a lack of understanding; that the imagined one has not understood something. The second position the imagined one will take the position of now it has understood. But the fact is that ultimately either is not true because it is still about the imagined one. That's why I say ‘If it is still coming from a personal perspective, then it is not true; because first there must be a person whose perspective this is’.

“It is an old belief, never looked at. Sense is...”

That's why it's very important to look at. Sense is intuition? Which sense is it? The sense of the ego? No, the sense of the ego is not intuition. The sense of intuition arises from this pure sense of Beingness. The intuition can be said to be the voice of this holy Presence itself.

“…standing on its own; thoughts and feelings.”

Yes, and we presume that because this feeling is there of trying to understand, of some frustration of trying to grasp something, therefore a person must be there. We take that giant leap. It is actually an impossible leap; but in our imagination, we take this giant leap that because thought or frustration is there, hence there must be a person that is frustrated. That is why we are looking today for this person.

In this looking, there will be so much peace. Because even the spiritual search starts with the presumption that it is a personal search. But it is only the spiritual search when done truly, and done with integrity and with faith, which then leads to this moment. In this moment you will see that there has never been a person here. Just like some feelings and some thoughts and the body has been hanging in mid-air, in nothing at all, and we have claimed that nothing to be a person. Do we see this? Who is the thought speaking to? Who is the feeling communicating with? This one; can you find this one?

Just simply check:

Who does this feeling belong to?

Who does this thought belong to?

Who is the thought speaking to?

Can anyone here tell me one thing that is clearly seen about this person; one attribute about this person that is seen? Any one thing?

EVEN IF WE SAY ‘ALL THAT IS APPEARING IS REAL’ WHERE IS THE PERSON?

“The sensations of tension and pain in this body are sometimes mistaken for a person, but each time I really look, they are nothing and dissolve into nothingness.”

Today we're even taking it a step further. We're saying that, suppose that the body is real, and the pain in the body is also real; we don't even need to say today that we are transcending anything. Suppose that all this tension, the pain, the body, everything is completely real because it appears to be here. It appears to be here so how can we say that it is not real? So let's say: ‘Okay, it appears to be here, so it is real’. It is appearing, so let's not argue with that.

Now: where is the person appearing? What does it look like? Because if it is an appearance, it must have an attribute, isn't it? It must have at least one attribute. Can you show me an object without any attribute? Can you show me anything in the phenomenal world without any attribute?

Name is there, form is there, sensations are there, senses are there, action seems to happen. But still, the seeming owner of all of this, which we have presumed is a person: what is that? What does that look like? You see what I'm saying? So, we're asking for the owner of all of this. Whose name is it? Whose form is this? Whose sensations are these? Whose thoughts are these? Whose imagination is this?

We have always presumed that it must be a person. So we're saying: can we find this one who is the claimant to all of this? The one which we presume all of this belongs to, is that a person?

“It is a beautiful looking. When looking for the person, all I get is something, an image like my face and something from memory. But it's more like trying to conjure a person than reality.”

Exactly. So there's an image; but that, like any other thought or imagination, is seen like that. Is it really the person to which all of this belongs? See. See for your own self; that even if all of this phenomenal reality was to be completely real, see if you can find a person here.

Today we're not calling the world an illusion, because there seems to be a lot of resistance to this; the debate which is never-ending. So forget about that debate. Say that the world, phenomena, everything is appearing, and hence must be real because I see it. I'm not arguing with that today. But even in this, can you show me the person?

“Nothing, nothing, nothing...”

“Person seems only a recognition that it never was, and always is ‘I Am’.”

Yes. But is this ‘am’ or the sense that ‘I Am’…, is this ‘am’ a person? Does it have any personal attributes? Or is it not just pure Being itself?

“No person found; just seeing the looking.”

“Just empty space with strong sensations and energies arising at the moment, yet they belong to no one.”

Even to say ‘strong’ is an interpretation. Very good. So there are energies and sensations which are arising.

“Their relative strength sometimes makes the person seem real.”

That's why I said that it's best not to believe an interpretation about it, because in that sense of relativity, they seem to conjure up a sense of a person.

“A thought appears sometimes, which says: ‘But everybody believes it's real’!”

This thought is just another thought. There was a time that everybody believed that this phenomenal appearance of the world is flat. Does that make it true?

“WHY IS BEING EXPRESSING THIS PERSONHOOD?”

Suppose, (actually this is seen here), that all time and space are projections of this Being itself; all time and space are projections of this Consciousness itself; everything is arising from this root ‘I Am’. And in this Being, there arose an urge to become a traveler through time and space to have this experience of traveling through time and space. What would it have to do? Can it actually become the time and space traveler? No. Because all time and space is arising within it.

So what it does is that it plays this game where it wears this veil of seeming-ignorance, or what we also call ‘the helmet of virtual reality’. It wears this veil of personhood, this belief of personhood. It then seems to navigate through this time and space. So this ‘person’ which is just a veil with no substance at all, seems to be navigating through this realm of time and space. In this time and space, all this experiencing does happen. So, Being experiencing itself happens through this Divine game. You see?

But there comes a time where it has been enough of the playing. Being itself is saying ‘I've had enough’ and then this person idea is dissolving through (we can jokingly say, the last level in the game, where you meet) a Master who says ‘Who are you really? Wake up now. Wake up now. Who are you really?’

The Master himself is also a projection in the same game. It appears within the game of time and space in this way. But actually it's only Being playing this game with Itself, in its own creations called time and space.

“Time and space pass through me.”

Yes, exactly.

“IS EMPTINESS AN ATTRIBUTE?”

No. Emptiness is just a way to convey that there are no attributes. You see? Because if emptiness would be an attribute, then it would not be empty anymore. It would ‘own’ emptiness. It is empty of all attributes including emptiness. Emptiness is also just another pointing. Can the seeing be called empty? No. Can it be called full? No. It is just the pure seeing itself.

Can the Being be called empty? No. It is just another pointer. It is just another ‘thorn’ which we are using to remove the older thorn; then both are thrown away.

Have no presumptions about what awakening is. Carry no ideas about what an awakening is. Because this idea of an awakening, or something that should happen, or some fireworks, or completely in a particular way which we've always imagined it to be; or read from other people’s experience; don't presume any of this.

In this moment, you are free, you are awake. The only bondage seems to be the believed bondage of thought, which is never real. So what must happen for you to be completely sure that you are free? What is the event that must happen to convince you of your freedom? Don't believe your mind's ideas about even the awakening.

I see all of you as only the Self, irrespective of what the testimony might be. It's good for all of this to be coming up and to get burnt in the fire of satsang.

Just drop any idea of awakening. Don't have any concept of awakening. Suppose you never heard the word before. There is no awakening. Suppose you never heard the word awakening. Then…?

“The person here is assuming that will mean loss of interest in life.”

Thoughts are always assuming that you are operating from a personal perspective. We said: Before you take on the personal perspective on anything, no matter what it is saying, before you believe any thought, send me the evidence which you have about being a person. Send me any evidence that you might have that you are the one that this thought is speaking about. There are so many presumptions, so many lies in every thought.

If you look at this one, it says ‘It will mean the loss of interest in life’ as if life depended on a person's interest to live itself. Also that it will presume a loss, which itself is a lie. There is so much untruth which can be seen through in every thought.

“No evidence! (smile). Can’t stop laughing!”

Very good. Then this thought is not for you.

WHO ARE YOU ACTUALLY SPEAKING TO?

It's like you got a wrong number on the phone, isn't it? You got a wrong number on the phone and the voice is saying that ‘You must now do this, you must not do this’. It is saying all of this. But you haven’t checked: Who are you actually speaking to? You're actually just believing this wrong number and following everything it had to say. You gave it a direct connection now to speak to you, so it's constantly speaking, and you're believing everything it is saying and following this.

So, the Master is now telling you that ‘This is a wrong number. It is a wrong connection that you have been believing all this life’. It is that simple actually. You picked up the phone, and it was a wrong number, but you never bothered to ask who you are talking to.

Now, it seems a little foolish because you’ve been listening to this voice for so long. That is why initially the resistance comes. When I say ‘Ask: who is this for?’ you say ‘No, no, no. It must be for me. I've been listening to this for so long’. And I say ‘Still, trust me. Just ask: Who is this for?’ Then you’ll see it was never for You. You were never in this game at all. Then you can say ‘SORRY, WRONG NUMBER!’

[Sangha saying] “Hahaha. Wrong number.” “Wrong number on the phantom phone. Hehehe.”

Wrong number, yes. [Laughs] It's completely the wrong number, and we never asked before satsang: ‘Who are you talking to’.

“The wrong number. Such good news!!!”

Yes, the best news! It was never about me. All that this voice has been saying, through thoughts; all that it has been saying has never been about me. There is no better news than this. Very good. All illusion has been this ‘wrong number’.

JUST LET GO OF YOUR NEXT THOUGHT

The simple truth is that no suffering, no trouble, no problems exist without belief in thought. I know that all of you have heard it many times before; but somehow a thought might come. It still might carry some meaning; but it's not true. It is saying nothing about You. All it is saying is always only about ‘the imagined one’. Never, never, never about You. Even the most glorious thought is not about You. There is no concept of a person without a thought. That is why I say that my simplest teaching is: Let go of your next thought.

If you let go of your next thought, then even the personhood cannot survive. All our problems, all the concerns that we have, all the suffering is just because of this imagined interpreter with all its nonsense which seems to be sitting in our head and feeding us all of this.

The idea of being a ‘person’ is always an imagined sense of an imagined self. It is the imagined one. It might seem like an energy contraction, but even that it is not. The energy contraction can be just a feeling, but we assign personhood to it with the belief in separation. The belief in ‘I’ as a separate entity is the root of personhood. Thought will exist. Thought will continue. As long as this phenomenal existence is here, thought will continue to appear. It's only that they will not have any power anymore; and without our belief in the thought, the thought cannot reinforce our sense of separation. We cannot conjure up a ‘person identity’ without believing a thought. Don't believe that freedom means that all thoughts will stop. I have never met a Being for whom all thoughts have stopped. But it is completely possible to withdraw our belief from thoughts.

“A separation is not believed in anymore, but is still felt somehow.”

What you're saying is that there's still a feeling that separation which is there, but there is a witnessing of even this feeling, isn't it? This Witnessing is untouched by the content of the feeling. The content could be of complete love. The content could be of complete oneness, but the Witnessing is apart from this love and oneness feeling also. It is beyond even this love. You are aware of love. Love is not aware of you.

Love is also seen. You are the Seeing itself. So don't wait for confirmation from either your thoughts or your feelings. If you keep waiting for these phenomenal entities to confirm your freedom then it is an endless wait.

“Yes, attention can be directed back to Awareness witnessing; then it goes back again.”

That is why we say: ‘Don't expect Freedom to be a particular state’. It is Freedom from all states. Attention could be on the most horrendous thoughts, or the most beautiful thoughts, or attention could be resting at home itself; unmoving. But what You are is always the Awareness of All of this; untouched by anything that attention is going to. You must see this. Because this seems to be confusing for many, isn't it? We confuse Enlightenment or Freedom to be a state. But whatever state might be emerging, the Awareness-You-Are is untouched by it.

UNPLEASANT STATES

What happens is that, when the state seems unpleasant, then the mind says ‘Okay then, maybe you're still separate. Maybe you're not actually free’. In believing these thoughts again, the personhood is given life again. Don't believe the interpretation about anything; about any appearance. Is there fear in this? Because immediately the mind will say ‘But what will happen to my life?’ The one who has been living your life will continue living your life. This imagined one will not be then interfering with it. ‘I’ as a separate entity, or ‘I’ as an ego, was never the doer of anything. But ‘I’ as ‘I Am’ is the Doer and Experiencer of All Things.

Initially the mind resistance can be strong and it will create all kinds of resistances. It will say that it is too abstract, too difficult. That's okay. Just stay in the Holy Fire of satsang, and all that is false will get burnt out.

“It can seem very difficult to stay firm in the understanding that, irrespective of attention's movement, I am Witnessing itself.”

Even if you were to get completely deluded, Awareness still stays as Awareness. Therefore what You are in reality is completely untouched. As long as you're not believing any interpretation about it right now, then it is gone. If you're believing a conclusion about it, then you seem to be stuck again.

It is always in the Now. A person seems to be only the sum total of all the ideas that you're believing at this moment. As you let go of these ideas, you see that the person was never anything real anyway. It is only a bunch of these ideas.

“It is so clear that I am Freedom; and yet identity seems to be arising more strongly than ever, (though it could be that I am just seeing it more clearly).”

That is why I have given you the simplest pointing. Because if you try to analyze too much, then you try to understand why this is happening. I can give you a lot of mechanics, and we can speak about Consciousness and ego and all these big words; but then, ultimately, what is required is: you just need a freedom from this person idea.

All appearances are just a matter of not giving the interpreter the belief. We’ve made it completely simple. The simplest way is just to let go of your next thought. Just let go of your next thought. No identity can survive this.

Still, many of you come back and say ‘But in the past, I forgot to let go of my next thought’. That is completely okay. We are never concerned about the past. Presume that the past never existed at all. Just from now: can just let go of your next thought? And show me a problem then. You see?

AWARENESS AWARE OF ITSELF

“If not known by the mind and not a state, is the knowing of Awareness just known as a sense, as a noticing?”

Yes, we can say it like that; but it's not even a sense actually. There’s nothing phenomenally that we can say about it. This is the only ‘non-phenomenal’ seeing. When we say that ‘I am Aware that I'm Aware’ was there a sense required to confirm this? ‘Sense’ is a word that gets close. But don't feel that it is like the sense ‘I Am’ even. Because even the sense ‘I Am’ can be phenomenally experienced, but this Awareness of Awareness itself cannot even be called a sense. It's just a simple seeing of itself.

What is the distance between you and this Awareness? What is the separation between you and this Awareness that is even aware of Itself? Just look and check: Where is Awareness and where are you? What is the distance between the two?

“There is No-Self. It sounds crazy but ‘I’ disappears completely.”

This No-Self, this pure Awareness of this Witnessing Itself, is what You Are. What you seem to be doing is, you’ve invented a mental picture if ‘I’ or an image of ‘I’ of some sort; maybe even a feeling of ‘I’ or some sense of ‘I’. Then, when you're faced with your Own True Nature, you're saying that ‘I’ does not exist. When you're referring to the ‘I’ as this separate visual metaphor, then it does not exist. But is this pure Awareness not you? If ‘I’ did not exist then ‘who’ is reporting this happened? When all disappeared…, all disappeared…, all…, everything gone…, even the ‘I’ is gone…, then ‘who’ is reporting that everything is gone?

“This pure Awareness is before ‘I Am’.”

This Pure Awareness is before the sense of Consciousness also. This ‘I Am’ or Beingness or Consciousness; this Awareness is witnessing even this.

“That ‘Everything is gone’ is reported by no-one.”

What you are calling ‘no-one’ is what I am calling ‘I’. The ultimate ‘I’, the Absolute. Then it is only a matter of semantics. As long as you can see that this Eternal Witnessing, this Awareness itself, which you can call ‘No-one’ is ever-present, and all arises in front of this, then this is absolutely fine.

TIRED OF SEARCHING

“I am tired due to searching, but still I cannot stop searching completely for Truth. What can I do? Maybe you will say ‘just be’ but this situation makes me bored.”

So much honesty and integrity in this, it's very beautiful. So I don't even say ‘just be’ actually, because there seems to be some ‘doing’ in the sense of ‘just being’. With the sense of ‘I Am’ also there seems to be a sense of effort in this. It could become even more tiring sometimes to do this as a practice. It was not meant to be a practice actually.

Therefore I have a simple instruction for you; and it will seem too simple to your mind, so this requires some trust. If you want to be free from all your suffering, and you want to find the Truth, I have some simple pointings for you.

The first pointing is: Simply just let go of your next thought. Just let go of your next thought.

What does ‘let go’ mean? It does not mean that no thought should come. It only means that the thought can come, even attention could go to it, but just withdraw your belief from it. Don't believe what it is saying. In this simple pointing is the end of suffering itself.

Then you say ‘I have been searching a long time for the Truth’. Therefore your next question should be: ‘Can you show me God?’ You say ‘Yes, when I don't believe my thoughts then there can be no suffering, but still, can you show me God?’

Yes, I can. The way to see God is to just simply look at the answer to this question in a very childlike, innocent way. The question is: Can you stop being now? Can you stop being now? [Pauses, smiles]. So this being that you cannot stop, this Presence of You itself, this Presence of ‘I Am’ is God, is Consciousness.

After this, the third simple pointing is for someone who might say: ‘Yes, but even this Consciousness, is this what I am? I want to experience the Absolute. I want to experience the Ultimate, the Absolute Supreme Self’.

Even that is available right now in the simple pointing: Are you aware now?’ This is the true Self, the Awareness itself which is aware of itself.

THE MIND WILL NOT CONFIRM YOUR FREEDOM

None of these questions or pointings require any use of the mind. They definitely don't need to rely on the mind's confirmation. If you keep waiting for the mind to confirm your freedom then it is going to be many more lifetimes; and even then it might not happen because the mind will never confirm. It will always only say ‘almost there’.

The mind will convince us that this seems to be trivializing what is happening here. It will convince us that this ‘Just let go of your next thought’ is a basic instruction for beginners. It is not. A few rare ones will see that it is the culmination of all spirituality, all paths, all the practices, all yoga; it's just meant to culminate in this letting go.

This letting go becomes a natural state. Initially it might seem effortful to some of you, but you see that this letting go is our natural state. Automatically all that is coming is allowed to come and allowed to go, and in this, we do not become tired. It is in the seeming mental effort to discover something that the tiredness comes; like the one who said ‘I have been seeking for a long time and now I'm tired’. With the simple pointing ‘Let go of your next thought’ all is allowed to come and go.

You have always been free. When we throw away all interpretations, when we throw away all thoughts, it is the same as saying ‘I am placing all this at the Master’s feet’. Just let go of your next thought. It is that simple.

WHO IS SPEAKING? TO WHOM?

If we were to ask the voice in the head ‘Who are you?’ most often the reply would be that ‘I am you’. It tries to convince you that it is your own voice. But the simple question is ‘Would you need a voice to communicate with your own self?’ Why would you need a voice to communicate with your own self? If it is my own true voice, then why would I need a voice to communicate with my own self? Do you see what I'm saying?

“So, it was the person talking to the person?”

The imagined one was trying to convince Consciousness itself actually that it is a person. The imagined one ultimately is also Consciousness itself. In computer science, we have this term called the ‘gaming engine’. When you enter the game, there's a sort of an artificial intelligence engine which convinces you that you are the character in the game. If you are playing a game in which you are playing the role of James Bond, this gaming engine will refer to you as ‘Mr. Bond’. [Laughs]. Therefore, now in this game, this gaming engine, this ego, is referring to You, Beingness Itself, as a person.

You are prior to all, all phenomenon; you're prior even to the birth of Consciousness itself. You have always been this. In the game, whether or not you forgot that you're just pretending to be the character cannot not actually make you the character in the game. The game has a lot more bite, has a lot more suffering, if we've forgotten who we really are. But that doesn't mean we were ever that, actually. As soon as this realization comes that ‘I was never this, I was never this person’ then the game loses its bite. Nothing exists here which can truly suffer.

There’s a beautiful set of lines in The Course in Miracles. It says:

Nothing real can be threatened.

Nothing unreal exist.

Herein lies the peace of God.

You see the magnitude of these three simple lines? Nothing real can be threatened; nothing unreal ever existed, and herein lies the peace of God. Knowing this, there can be only peace; because this is the end of fear.

“The voice of ego is speaking to the idea of itself as a person, so it must believe it's two.”

Yes. If it was just me, if it was truly me, then why would I need a voice to communicate with myself? Why would I need a medium of communication?

The entire delusion only has all been one big phone conversation which was a ‘wrong number’. Are you willing to accept this? We all seem to be caught up in this one big ‘wrong number’. That's why the Master says ‘It is the same guy that is saying all of this’. It is the voice of the ego itself, which is trying to convince you that you are this person. But you’ve searched and searched now and this person just cannot be found. Therefore, why don't we ask the voice itself, the voice of the ego: ‘Who are you speaking to? Can you show me the one that you are speaking about?’

“How can one differentiate between pure voice/intuitive wisdom, and words from mind? They arise from the same place.”

The voice from the ego, or the person idea, it is always needy or it always attacking or defending something. It needs something; it needs approval, it needs confirmation, it needs to be right. This is what accompanies the voice from the ego.

The voice of Being or the voice of the Satguru is always accompanied by the Presence of Love, Peace and Joy. There is no need that this voice has. There is no impatience; no desire to be accepted also. It is voice of Being Itself, and the words will seem like they have been dipped in honey before they are spoken. So ultimately all is coming from Consciousness, but qualitatively within this play they have these differences. It is seen that the voice that is full of need, or attack or defense (which is the same thing) leads to more confusion which leads to personhood. The voice which is accompanied by Love, Peace and Joy seems to wipe away the false ideas. See? That's why my Master says when he asks us ‘What does it smell like? Does it still smell like a person? Or is it coming from a deeper, more loving space?’

No-mind is actually a beautiful space. It's a beautiful space. That's why when someone says ‘nothing, nothing’ in a negative sort of way, we question that, isn't it? It's not like a sort of negative, derogatory nothing. It's a nothing which is no thing, but it is full; it is a full nothing. All things arise from this nothing. That is the nothing we are speaking of. It is Supreme Intelligence. Intelligence, in fact, is born in this. Consciousness is born in this. All the forces of attention or belief, of identity are born from this.

AFRAID OF NOT BEING ABLE TO FUNCTION WELL IN LIFE

“If we fall into Being and become very peaceful, full of love, joy and peace…”

Let’s look at this question before we get to the actual question itself. Let’s look at the implication of that. The implication is that there is a separate entity, and there is a Being, and this separate entity ‘falls into’ Being. What we are truly saying is that this separate entity is only imagined. It just does not exist. Only Being is functioning here. So, there's no question of ‘falling into Being’. It is only a seeing that ‘I have always been this Beingness’ and ultimately seeing that ‘I am the Awareness even of this Consciousness or Beingness’. There has always been only the Being here; and the separation has only been imagined. This separation gets perpetuated by belief in thought. So, it is Being itself which is deluding itself, through thought, into believing that it is a person.

“… then for a policeman or army man, do you feel he will be able to do his job?”

The Self has no trouble playing any role. The Being itself has been doing everything. I also have a job. So it is only another mental concept that ‘If I realize who I am then what will happen to my job, what will happen to my family, who will protect the country…?’ No one who has realized their true nature has regretted it. No one has said that ‘If I have Self-realization, I have lost the opportunity to do my job or to make money’. You see that Consciousness is the projector of this entire Universe. It can manage all jobs, it can manage our life much better than a concept of an imagined person. But if you continue from the perspective of being the imagined one who is trying to figure out something, then it is going to be very frustrating; because ultimately you have to confront this idea that you are not this person.

I know that all spiritual search, all spiritual seeking also starts with a personal idea of freedom; that the person wants to become free. But what is different between the spiritual search and the search for money, relationship or any other search is that this one will bring you to the end of misunderstanding about being a person. Most other searches perpetuate the idea of personhood.

That is why it is said that the desire for freedom is an auspicious desire. But as long as it remains a personal desire, it is just like any other desire actually. So if there's still a person who is trying to say that ‘I have understood, and hence I can improve my life because of it’ then that is still a fallacy. You are still not that one; that one is still the imagined one.

Let these words seep through. This is Consciousness speaking to Consciousness itself. Don't try to work hard to understand this, no effort is actually required. One day these words will explode inside of you, and they will blow away all idea of being a person. Let this communion happen, and you will see that you were never this person; and that will bring so much Love, Peace and Joy, without any concern for any state. The one who is leading your life knows exactly where to take your life.

There is this sense of sacrifice that ‘If I am going to surrender, please make sure that everything goes properly’. But surrender is only a realization that you have always been surrendered. It is not an action. God is not waiting for your surrender to run your life. Only God has been running your life so far. Surrender is only this realization that this separate individual person never existed.

Who is running your life right now? Who is beating your heart right now? Who is making the blood flow? Who is making the eyes see? Who is making the ears hear? Who is making the neurons snap in your brain? Is the person doing this? Is there a group of people, some committee somewhere, who is doing all of this? You must look at this.

The simplest pointing is, in this moment, wherever you find yourself, in whatever appearance you find yourself: you let go of your next thought. The mind will say ‘It is not possible. This is too simple’. But I can tell you, just in this simplicity, suffering is over.

In this simple pointing is the culmination of all spiritual practice. Just simply let go of your next thought. Many times you will still find yourself in the place where you picked up some thoughts. What is to be done in those times? Just let go of your next thought. We have made it simple, simple, simple.

ALONENESS EASIER THAN COMMUNITY?

“When I am alone, I find stillness, and everything seems clearer. But if I join in with any kind of community then I lose this stillness and silence and my mind sound is very loud.”

No matter where you are, what you are doing, this simple pointing can be followed: Let go of your next thought. You see? Because if our freedom is only freedom when we are isolated in a cave, then it is not really freedom, isn't it? It is some sort of escape.

Freedom does not mean that we must be in a particular state. Freedom only means that any state is allowed to arise, but we see that ‘I am untouched by it’. All appearances can come. Therefore we do not say renounce anything; we do not say renounce the world, renounce your job, renounce your family. The only thing that needs to be renounced is this interpreter in our heads. If you renounce the next thought, then show me the trouble; show me the noise.

When we say ‘Let go of the next thought’ we are not saying that the thoughts should not arise. Thoughts will still come. Attention will also go sometimes. All that is required is to withdraw or divest your belief from it. Beingness definitely can withdraw its belief from the thought which is arising.

I NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG?

“I never did anything wrong? Because I don't exist?”

Yes. This ‘I’ does not exist. The ‘I’ that wants the freedom from the guilt also does not exist. You cannot do it half way, you see? If there is a person trying to find a band aid against the guilt and saying ‘Okay, I can now let go of my guilt’ then along with the guilt, this person also should go. Who is the one who wants freedom from this guilt? This one also must go. You see what I am saying?

“Fear of accepting this.”

Find out this one. Who is fearful also now? Can you find that one? Or is it just another figment of our imagination? What does this one look like, the one who is fearful? Are all the attributes not just beliefs that we have had about it? You see? So just to repeat something we said yesterday ‘The person is only the sum total of all the beliefs that you are carrying’. As you let go of these concepts, you will see that the person idea completely dissolves. Show me the person which is not an idea.

CONSCIOUSNESS IS NOT A LOCALIZED ENTITY

“Beloved Ananta, sometimes you say ‘Consciousness is the one doer’. But in my mind, the doer is an entity and a localized ‘something’. Apparently, in my mind, Consciousness and doer is not compatible.”

If Consciousness, Beingness is the one doer, what it means is that all is being done by this Consciousness itself. Therefore it cannot be a localized entity. It must be the light itself which is playing in this way.

When we are speaking about doership now, we are taking it away from the personal sense of doership, (in which the movie’s characters are feeling like they are doing something), to the seeing that it is all a play of this light of Consciousness itself. It is not doing in a personal way. It is the light itself which is playing and projecting these appearances.

WORSHIPING AND RITUALS?

“Is there any importance left of worshiping of deities and certain key rituals? Is there any more relevance?”

When you realize your true nature then all can flow through in a playful way. It is God himself which is playing in celebration to his own Self. But until also it is seen clearly that ‘I am this Consciousness itself’ then even if we bow our head down to anything, it is still good; because in this way the ego is getting diminished. For the ego, it takes a lot of suffering to get it to bow down. It asks a lot of questions. Even if it meets a Master, it will say ‘Can I trust you? Are you really a Master? Before I bow down to somebody I want to be sure’. So if there is faith in something, the magic is in the bowing down actually. In the dissolution of the ego, all truth can be seen. It doesn't matter in which way it happens. It can happen through devotion; that God is all, that all my life is being run by God itself. This is devotion. Or it could be knowledge; that this individual person just did not exist. I see no duality in Bhakti or Jnani.

IT'S NOT A PERSONAL UNDERSTANDING

The understanding cannot be a personal understanding. If you're still believing that there is a person here who has understood anything at all then that is not the understanding. The understanding always only is that ‘This person which I believe myself to be was never real; is just purely imagined’.

But this mind will try to claim credit for the understanding now. This mind will say that ‘I have understood that I am Awareness’ but the mind can never understand that it is Awareness; just like the refection in the mirror cannot understand what our life is in reality. In the same way this mind, which is just a play of Consciousness, cannot truly understand Consciousness or Awareness.

So what starts off as a personal journey of understanding, of freedom, ultimately must end with this person being confronted; this person being seen to be false and our belief getting completely divested from this identity. This person, this mind, is always in a rush to proclaim its understanding. Even when it says ‘I do not understand anything’ it is usually trying to convey that it has understood everything.

So it's really not in the words actually. If you see that this is happening then it is nothing to feel guilty about. It has to play out in this way. But my job seems to be to point it out. Because if we end prematurely the search here, with just a personal understanding, then it will not be the end of satsang. In this seeming journey it must go from person to Presence; from people to Being. That's why we're not a sangha of people; we're the Sangha of Being.

We can check for the symptoms, to see if there is still a need to convince or if there's still a need to impress. The need to convince usually comes from the fact that something is doubting our own freedom actually. There is no need to convince the Master. The Master already completely knows that you are free. It is your own doubt, your own self-doubt, which conveys itself in this way with a need to convince anyone. It could be the Master, it could be your family, it could be all your loved ones. What you truly are is unconcerned. It is unconcerned about freedom also. Your true Self knows that the one who is asking for freedom, needing freedom or even proclaiming freedom is not You.

So when we say that ‘The spiritual ego is trying to convince others’ actually I feel that it is its own lingering self-doubt that it is trying to get over. If you completely did not doubt your freedom at all, then who would you need to convince about it?

You have seen now that there was no one here who was bound. There was nobody here who can be bound or could have been bound. If that one did not exist, then who is the one that is free from bondage? See?

SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS?

“Is there such a thing as a spiritual thought?”

There is no such thing as a spiritual thought. Unless you're talking about the intuitive voice, which has a different qualitative feel about it. What is the way to differentiate between a thought and this intuitive communion? It is to see that intuition is always accompanied by the presence of love, peace and joy; and a thought is accompanied by a need.

“There is no need to convince anyone about freedom, but there is some sort of urge to share. It is like ‘Wow, this is amazing’. In a way, more veils disappear by sharing.”

You can smell it actually. You can smell where something is coming from. If it is coming from the place of need or from a place to convince, then it is still smelling of the same guy; the ego. But if it is coming from a pure place of just love then it is beautifully auspicious. And I have no intention of policing or even pointing out where something is coming from because I know that all of this is the play of Consciousness itself. It is just for you to check from your own inquiry, to see for yourself. I am completely certain of only one thing, that there is only one true Self and we are that.

YOU CAN ONLY PRETEND TO BE BOUND

“This spiritual thought is always reassuring itself.”

Without a thought, in this moment, right now, all of you are free. In this moment, all of you are free. You can only pretend to be bound. You can only pretend to be bound by believing a thought.

So, let's experiment with this. See that you are completely free right now; and that the pretending of bondage can happen through the belief in the thought which is coming. With complete integrity, we can do this now to see that there is pure freedom here. The pretending will start with the next thought that you believe. See for yourself which thought still has this juice to make you pick it up.

Freedom does not require too many words. What if we were to stop talking now and see that there is full freedom already? Then we give a belief to a thought or to any appearance, and we start playing the game of bondage again. So let's start from this perspective of freedom, and see which thoughts still have the juice that you're compelled to believe it.

“Thoughts have a tendency to bind?”

Nothing can actually bind us, and we have never been bound. We pretend to play this game of ‘person-person’ when we believe the thoughts which are coming, because all thoughts are meant for the person. So when we believe a thought we are believing the identity of personhood. A thought is only talking to the person, and without this belief there can be no nurturing of the person idea, and the person idea cannot survive.

VIGILANCE WITH THOUGHTS

“It takes vigilance to not believe any thought. But thoughts can come and go.”

Exactly, so what’ll happen is that initially it will seem like we have to constantly police our thoughts: ‘This is coming, I'm not believing. This is coming, I'm not believing it’. It seems like we have to guard this constantly. Then we see that it is happening naturally. But there will still be that one in a thousand thoughts which might have some juice, and then the vigilance comes back. That is where it is beautiful when suffering arises because it shows us that maybe some thought got missed and got picked up; the belief. Because of some old conditioning, this one still has some juice. Then vigilance goes from being this constant policing to just this simple watching.

If there is some suffering arising, then we see what got believed in; and that is let go of. It becomes a very simple process. So it ceases to seem like hard work. The natural state is completely full of this freedom of not having to police it. Vigilance starts by becoming this constant seeming-watching to see; realizing that it is our natural state to not pick up any thoughts, and that all thoughts are coming and going. Then when something seems to be arising with some bite, then we can look again and let it go. So vigilance, which starts off as a seemingly-active doing, actually is seen to be just the natural flow of things.

In these recurring thought patterns, life is trying to show you some area of attachment which still seems to be strong. It could even be to the concept that ‘Everyone should be nice’ or ‘Nobody should be rude to me’ or that ‘I am a good person’. All these subtle concepts can still remain, but life will still continue to do its job, especially through these recurring thought patterns. If you find that something is let go of but it comes back, then again it's let go of and it comes back; if it continues to rotate like this, then you can shine the light of your own Self on this and see: ‘What is it that is getting affected? Which concepts are still being believed?’ These concepts will be let go of because of this seeing.

“Shame and arrogance still have juice.”

You can look at these specific thought patterns and see what They're pointing you towards. They're pointing you to a misbelief that you still carry about yourself. It could even be something like a misbelief that you or another was the doer of their action; to presume that somebody exists as a separate person. We can look at this as a beautiful mirror which is pointing us towards what is still being held onto.

If you're trying to grasp onto some understanding or there's a need to become a jnani; a need to become a learned master, a need to become a learned person, all this also will be washed away.

You are already completely complete. The whole universe takes birth inside you. You are the one who has defined this whole play which gets projected in the light of Consciousness. What knowledge would you require? What must you need to know now? Because a thought will convince you that you're not free and you need to get somewhere to be free, or you need to understand something to become free; that is the trick of the mind. You can start with the simple perspective that ‘Right now, in the moment, there is only freedom here. It's complete freedom here’.

“So this is what Eckhart Tolle means to be in the present? Being in the now means to not pick up the thoughts?”

I would say yes. What he is actually referring to is this very natural state of every moment unfolding so beautifully. Inside the ever-present ‘Now’ all this is unfolding very beautifully. As we let go of our thoughts, then we are constantly in the now; because it is only the thoughts which are taking us to the past or projecting the future.

HELPING OTHERS

“I am noticing most thoughts these days are thoughts offering help to find truth. These have been given belief as important thoughts. Noticing that they are just the same thing.”

All that is coming from the mind-space can be let go of. If it is coming from the mind then you will see there will be a need around it; the need to help or the need to be seen as the one who wants to help. But if there is a genuine compassion arising from the heart, which means accompanied by the presence of love, with no need to be seen as the one who wants to help; if it is coming from the pure perspective of intuition itself, that means the Satguru has started using the body/mind, which is there as an instrument for itself. If it is coming from this beautiful space of neutrality then there is nothing wrong. If it is coming with the presence of love, peace and joy then it is completely okay to follow the sense of wanting to help to spread the truth. But if it is coming from a place of needing something, wanting something, wanting to prove something, then it can be very simply let go of.

“For me it's a feeling of responsibility for friends, family; even society at large consumes me. When someone is suffering around me, I get consumed by all sorts of worries.”

The mind will say that ‘Unless you listen to me, you are not helping others’. First understand that the best way to help the world is first to be free from your own suffering completely. Then you will become a light and a beacon that will get the ‘seeming others’ freedom from their suffering. Don't go with the mind's presumption that it knows how to help another. How do we know? How do we know whether giving money to another will really help? How do we know even to give emotional support to another will truly help? Maybe they were close to becoming the Buddha? Maybe something in them would have exploded and they would have become the Buddha himself, before we distracted them with our help.

First see that the mind does not know anything at all, and when this mind is let go of then it is just Consciousness which is completely seen to be doing all the actions anyway. God's love does not require the intervention of your thoughts to take care of itself. When it is done with this sense of freedom then you will find that either pride for helping another or guilt for not helping another cannot arise. But if you continue to do it from the personal perspective, it plays out in the way that you do not escape these monkeys of pride and guilt.

TRICKING THE TRICKSTER

“Many recurring thoughts of illness and death; of attachment to believing I am the body, and that I want life to go a particular way. Throwing this into the fire.”

You are the Supreme Intelligence! The trickster is not more intelligent than you. When it is truly freedom that we want, when you’ve had enough of this game, then all the trickster’s tricks can actually point us to our own freedom.

The trickster’s trick is to try and keep you deluded as the person, by giving you thoughts about illness, about death, about the body, about wanting life to go in a particular way, but now You-as-Consciousness, as the Supremely Intelligent One, are seeing that ‘None of this actually applies to me’. It is therefore leading you to the simple looking of your own true Self. In this way you have tricked the trickster itself in this wonderful game.

Chapter 3

Beautiful Neutrality

EMOTIONS

I felt today that we could have a look at emotions. We look at thought a lot. We look at the energy construct of a thought on many occasions, but emotions we don't look at so much. Let’s look at them very objectively, and see how it plays out with these emotions.

What usually happens is an emotion can come; just like a thought, an emotion can appear. Suppose the emotion of anger is appearing. When the emotion of anger is appearing then we say ‘I am angry’. Or when the emotion of grief is appearing we say ‘I am feeling sad’. Or when the emotion of joy is appearing we say ‘I am so joyful’. This attaching, this making the emotion about me, is what creates the trouble.

Even in satsang actually, sometimes some strong emotion of happiness or joy might come and then you say ‘I am feeling so joyful’. The minute we say ‘I am feeling so joyful’ then we become scared to lose this joy. Or when this feeling goes, as every feeling must actually, then we say ‘I am not feeling the joy’ or ‘I am feeling sad’ or whatever other emotion is present. So, if you can just see that these emotions were just appearing and they have nothing to do with you; they are just another appearance.

Because of our constant reiteration in satsang about thought, many of us are able to let the thought come and let it go. The funny thing is that when emotion appears, then we are quick to believe an interpretation about it, which is also just a thought. See?

Just like we have learned how to let thoughts go, the same way we will learn how to let emotions go. The pointing stays the same actually, which is to ‘Let go of your next thought’. The pointing to ‘Let go of your next thought’ stays the same even when we are dealing with emotion. We're not believing the thought that ‘this is my anger’.

What happens is we get angry, or the emotion of anger appears actually, and we say ‘I got angry’ and then we start looking for reasons to justify our anger or to defend our anger. If we are not looking for reasons to justify or defend, then we are looking for ways in which we become guilty about it.

All of this is not possible if we continue to let go of our next thought; even in the midst of a tsunami of emotion. This will keep the ‘me’ out of the picture. This will keep the false ‘I’ out of the picture. Then there is a complete space here for any emotion to arise and to disappear as it likes. Without believing a thought about it, you will not resist it. Without calling it ‘good’ or ‘bad’ there is no trouble actually.

So, don't be quick to pick up the thought about emotions; that ‘these are my emotions’ or ‘this should not be happening to me’. All these are just thoughts. A popular thought could be that ‘Now that I have understood who I am then no negative emotions should come to me’. It is pure fallacy. Even if the negative emotion arises, see that ‘it doesn't touch me actually’. That is freedom. Freedom is unrestricted even to the sense of which emotion is arising.

YOU ARE AWARENESS. YOU ARE THE ETERNAL WITNESS OF ALL THAT IS ARISING, INCLUDING EMOTIONS.

So, don't give a place of specialness to your emotions. But this does not mean that we resist them in any way. We do not resist any emotion. All is allowed to come and go in its own time.

It can be a little more confusing to deal with emotions because thoughts seem to come and go very quickly. Emotions can also be called energy constructs, yet they are qualitatively different in the sense that they seem to last longer.

Therefore, have no desire or aversion also to any emotion which is arising, and you'll see there is such great mastery over all of these energies when you just watch. When you watch without identification, you will find that none of this actually touches you at all. This is true for all variety of emotion. We don't even have to label them ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

We can see for ourselves now; if there is any emotion that exists, to see if there is an entity which is getting affected by this emotion. Can we find this entity which is touched by this emotion?

Whatever emotion exists for you now, just be with that. Even if it is the most uncomfortable emotion, just stay with it. Strong sensations can come sometimes. Without labeling it ‘my emotion’ try to find out ‘Who is touched by this?’

You see that Witnessing is untouched.

SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE

Picking up a thought has two parts. Although the ‘picking up’ process seems like a singular process, it is actually two parts.

The first part is our attention. Sometimes when thought activity is strong, body is tired, all these kind of appearances, then attention is very strongly going to the thoughts. At these times we don't say to pull your attention away; because then it becomes a fight. It becomes more effort. This is the first part.

The second part is belief. Let’s look at this. This is what we mean when we say that ‘I find it difficult to drop some thoughts, or to let them go’. If a particular belief has not been nurtured in the past; if a particular thought or concept or identity has not been nurtured in the past, you will see now that new ones can just come and go, mostly. Mostly you will find that new ones can just come and go. But it is the old ones, which have been nurtured and made strong through our own belief in the past, which continue to still have some meaning for us.

If we find that belief is still going to them, or a sense of meaning is still given to them, then that is also very beautiful actually. [Laughs] You’ll be surprised I'm saying that; but through this process you can see those things which you are still misidentified with. What are the concepts that are still being believed in?

There is no trouble now in any of this. Even if belief is given to something now, and suffering arises, then you can look at that and say ‘Yes, it is clearly seen now that I must be still misidentified with something which is untrue; because I have seen now that all thoughts are referring to me as a person; and the person itself is untrue’. So no matter how hard it tries to convince us, no matter how meaningful it sounds, we have now gone beyond it. If there are still some remnants of the past that we're still not able to withdraw our belief from, it's good that they come, so that they can get exposed; either in your own light, or in the light of satsang itself. So no fear now about any of it.

JUST DON'T CALL IT ‘MINE’

How to deal with thought? Just let go. Divest them of your belief.

How to deal with emotion? Don't resist them, don't call them ‘my emotion’. Just see that it is an appearance, and refuse to believe any thought about the emotion also. Simply refuse to believe any thought about the emotion also.

Then you will find that all these tantrums have no power actually. It will become a distant memory. The tantrums will still come, the ego will still try to throw tantrums, but to you it will not seem like a tantrum. It will seem like a whisper of a mosquito or something like that.

WHAT IS LOVE?

So, love is what? Love is basically the sense that there is no separation; the sense of belonging-ness, the sense of oneness. Love is very simple actually. In the pointings in satsang you will find that there is a global love; there is a kind of universal sense of no separation which will arise on its own. Without any expectation, you will find that the way that you are relating to all things becomes more and more universal; becomes more and more without this ‘me’ and ‘another’ feeling. This will happen on its own. This is pure, natural love. That's the first aspect I wanted to speak about love.

The confusion comes in terms of what happens to the ‘special relationships’. That's the second aspect I wanted to speak about. What happens to the special relationships with partners and close family? What happens to that love?

What you will find with that is that the Self has no trouble playing any of these roles. Therefore the love can continue; even the romantic love can arise when it has to. There is no dichotomy in that. But what you will find is that there is no need. So it is the need which causes all the trouble in relationships. Most often we find that it is this need which is confused for love; all the desperation, all the clinginess, all the attention-seeking comes from this aspect of need actually.

You will find that it is impossible to need anything at all; but the love is allowed to flow very naturally. So, even in special relationships with our partners there is no trouble at all as far as that is concerned.

The third aspect of love is that love as an emotion or a feeling here is constantly at the service of your Holy Presence; of the Holy Presence ‘I Am’. You will find that because there is no need in this Presence ‘I Am’ for even love, that Love is constantly at your service. You’ll never feel a shortage of any love; because so much Love, so much Peace and Joy will constantly be at the service of one that does not need anything, that you will find that it is so beautiful that you wonder how you ever chased this. That will become a mystery for you because you will see that there is SO much of it; ever-present, always in your service.

So remember that your true nature is not to be in service to any emotion. All these emotions and feelings, even the most glorious ones, even the most rarified ones, are always in service to you. (And, as you know, when I say ‘you’, I'm not referring to the personal ‘you’).

ONLY 4 BASIC PROBLEMS IN LIFE

When we talk about troubles or problems, there are only 4 basic problems which can happen in life. All are just a variation of these. First is relationships; love and other relationships. Second is work and finance. Third is body and health. These are the main sources of any problem or trouble. In all our seeming-spaghetti of complicated life, these are the three main aspects of trouble.

The fourth, the final one hopefully, is the struggle to find meaning or the struggle for freedom or the desire for freedom; which also starts off in a personal way. But this is the only one, at the culmination of which all of this personhood is dissolved. It is the end of problems actually. So we can say that ‘The desire for freedom arising is a very auspicious desire’ because first it burns away all the other desires, and then it burns itself, the imagined entity which it believed itself to be.

SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES COME AND GO

Sometimes spiritual experiences come, and they are SO beautiful that we believe that the spiritual experience was the freedom. Sometimes I even say ‘It is good if it is a completely sober seeing’. Then it is good. No fireworks at all, no kundalini, no chakras, no bliss, no joy; just the simple seeing that ‘I am the Awareness itself’. This sober seeing is also very auspicious. Otherwise it becomes an expectation that this experience is always accompanying freedom.

You see, anything which comes, must go; any experience which comes, must go. Nothing phenomenal comes and stays. Freedom is freedom from all these experiences. You are the pure Witnessing itself, which is untouched even by this most-sublime experience of freedom, or awakening, or whatever terminology you’d like to use.

Freedom will never be experienced, because freedom is not an experience. It is a freedom from all experiences. What it means is that all experiences can arise, even tsunami, even joy, or the most horrible or the most sublime. All are free to arise. This is freedom. There is One who is witnessing that all of this is happening. Is that witnessing touched by any of this? Knowing that ‘This Witnessing I Am’ is freedom; irrespective of any experience. It is not an experience at all. It is the witnessing of all experiencing.

WITNESSING ITSELF IS NOT AN ENTITY CALLED ‘THE WITNESS’

There is no ‘witness’ actually. There is no entity called ‘the witness’. It is only a witnessing. There is no trouble in witnessing, because it is pure witnessing without any belief in the interpretation. Trouble comes from belief in an interpretation. As long as it is just this Witnessing, there is no trouble at all. As long as it is just this, all the beautiful forces of Love, Peace and Joy are at your service, falling at your feet.

It can be a person only which pretends to be ‘the witness’. Simple, simple, simple thing: Just let go of all thoughts, and see that there is no entity whatsoever. It is only pure Witnessing itself.

CAN YOU STOP BEING NOW?

Maya is a projection of Consciousness itself. In fact, all that is phenomenal, which is projected by Consciousness itself, is called maya. Consciousness is already all there is.

Never expect your thoughts to confirm your Freedom or to be aligned to your True Nature, to be aligned to your True Self. That is not the nature of thought. The nature of thought is to keep personhood alive. But thought does not have this power. Therefore it constantly auditions for your attention and belief; and when your belief is given, then we seem to be caught in this false idea of personhood. Without this, there is no trouble at all.

The Universe does not make a mistake. It has perfect timing. If you have this approach, then nothing can ever be a problem for you. Anything that is arising now, you're looking at that as an opportunity to find out what bits of identification still remain. Now the trickster cannot trick you. Now the Supreme Intelligence has outsmarted the trickster ego. To see Grace, and an opportunity to transcend in all situations that are arising, is true spirituality.

“One juicy thought while I was in pain said ‘You have to conquer pain’.”

You cannot conquer anything. Don't try to conquer something. When you drop this effort towards conquering something, then you will see that it is already transcended. Pain will be transcended. It will not be conquered. There is no person that can say that ‘I am beyond pain’. Only testimony can come from Beingness itself which says ‘Pain is allowed to come but I continue to be untouched by it’. There’s a difference in tone there. So don't believe any interpretation about the pain. And with this, there will be so much acceptance that you might find that it is very manageable actually. But if you try to fight it or conquer it, then that is when the trouble starts actually. There is actually nothing which is unmanageable for us. All that is given is our own projection. Then how can it be that we cannot manage it? It is part of our own game. It is our own dream. Don't try to conquer anything at all.

“The thought of not planning anything at all is disturbing a lot here. Feels like losing control.”

The person will say that ‘I am losing control’. But what control did the person have? Can any person predict the next fifteen minutes of their life? Anything can happen in any moment. What control does the person have? So as long as we believe ourselves to be a person then we will give belief to this fear of losing control.

You can be identified with the sense of Beingness, or the sense I-Amness. This Beingness is completely untouched by any event and does not have this kind of fear. You can see through these tricks of the ego now.

Ultimately it all boils down to only one thing: What is it that I'm identified with? What do I consider myself to be?

As long as I still consider myself to be a person, that is just continuing the trouble. Even if we consider ourselves to be a very Spiritual person; even if I believe myself to be an Awakened person or a Free person, (which actually is an oxymoron; there is no such thing as a Free ‘person’ because Freedom is freedom from the person). So what is it we are identified with? As soon as it is seen that ‘I am just Awareness itself’ in the simplest way, then from there, which suffering can we speak of?

“Has the Self within you realized itself, or is it just fooling around?”

The Self is always just fooling around. It is all a play of Consciousness itself. The only thing realized was that there is no person here. The Self does not need to realize itself. The Self can be nothing but the Self. Therefore Self-realization is only the seeing that: what I believed myself to be, (which was the ego, which was the person), was never true. Therefore there are no methods here for how the Self should realize itself. The Self is already the Self. So all of this is the fooling around of the Self.

This is a beautiful question. What would be the fooling? The fooling would be that ‘I am still a person, pretending to be awakened’. But would that make me not awake? Would that make me not the Self? So even if full pretense is going on, if it's a full drama, does that make me not the Self? There is no concern here about this.

“Where is ‘I Am’ in Awareness?”

This pure Watching, pure Seeing, pure Witnessing gives birth this pure Being itself. Can you stop being now? We cannot. This Being is the sense ‘I Am’.

FEELING UNSTEADY

Sometimes when this switch-over of power is happening, from personhood to Beingness, then there comes an unsteady state. There comes this unsteady state and we're not able to put our finger on it and say ‘This is what it is’. Because thoughts also start losing their voice. They just seem uncomfortable. Something seems to be niggling and we're not able to figure it out. Just don't resist it. Be completely open. Don't believe any interpretation about it. It will not last long.

“My experience is that Consciousness is fooling around but that Awareness is not fooling around or doing anything at all; just helplessly Being.”

What does that mean? That Consciousness is the One Doer? Consciousness is the One Doer of All actions. In the light of its Own Self, Consciousness is playing this game. All of it is one big fooling around actually. Because Consciousness never became this person. But to play this game, to give it more entertainment value, it has to put on this garb of personhood somehow. Now when this garb of personhood has been removed, we see that Consciousness is just shining its light, and this play seems to emerge for its own entertainment. But Awareness is not doing anything itself except being aware.

It's an Aware Presence. But I won't say ‘helplessly’. It is not concerned with anything at all. It's just Pure Awareness itself. ‘Helpless’ would also be an interpretation from the perspective of the mind, saying that ‘This is so helpless that it cannot do anything’. So when we say it is nothing, you must remember that it is the full nothing, from which God is born. In the light of this God, all this is happening.

“Awareness is pure, still and silent witnessing. Where is, in it, any power to move?”

That's what we said, that in Pure Seeing there's the birth of this Pure Being. When this Being ‘I Am’ is born, then the world is full of movement. The world is constantly moving, which is the power that makes this world move. It is your own Being. This Being that you cannot stop now. From Pure Seeing itself, Pure Being is given birth; and in the light of this Pure Being this whole manifest, phenomenal Universe, Multiverse seems to function.

“Feelings of exhaustion and fragmentation. Giving it all to you.”

See, when all this beautiful process of surrendering happens, what would typically happen is I would say that there is a ‘me’ here that is feeling all of this; but in actuality there is no such ‘me’. There is no such ‘me’ who is feeling anything at all. It is purely imagined. So in this beautiful process of surrender, we lose all concern about this one. Then we see that everything is allowed to flow in its own beautiful way, without having any sense of trying to control something or trying to change something. In this way, we stop resisting. And in this state of beautiful neutrality, of non-resistance, this is Freedom.

“When something is seen as untrue but continues to arise, is there anything for us to do? Just keep bringing it to inquiry?”

Yes, if it is coming up and you have seen it to be untrue, you will not even actually notice it. But if it is still coming up, it is transcending more and more. As you keep letting go, it can come whenever it wants; you will not even notice. Actually we notice very few of the thoughts which pass through us. Just like when we enter a room, we notice very few of the objects placed there.

As we divest belief from all of these thoughts, we will see that attention also stops going to them. But if attention is continuing to go there, it means some sense of some meaning or some value might still persist. As you keep letting go, this cleaning up process is continuing. Just let it continue and you will stop noticing this kind of thought at all.

THIS PERSON JUST DOES NOT EXIST

If there is still a sense of belief that ‘I must be a separate person, I must be this individual ego’ irrespective of what we know, irrespective of what kind of knowledge we have, no matter how spiritual this person might seem to become, it is not Freedom.

So the idea of satsang is not to become a spiritual person. It is to see that this person just does not exist. Because all that a person knows how to do is to attack and defend, to confirm or convince. If you know that you are the Self alone, then what is there to attack and who is there to defend?

“Today it was as though I needed to defend my understanding or it would disappear.”

The true understanding can never leave you. If it needs effort to be remembered then it is just from the mind. This was another trigger for you to let go of all effort to understand or to remember anything. Even if there's no memory here at all: can you stop being now? Being is ever-present. No reference to the past or projection of the future is required.

Being does not need to do anything at all. Being is always the Being itself. It is only the person which pretends to pick up these sort of battles. It is the person which is trying to get personal freedom. It is this person that must be divested of all our belief now. Who is trying to be on your side? The person is trying to get rid of personhood. The ego is trying to kill the ego. You see? It cannot happen. It is freedom from this person idea, not freedom for the person.

You are boundless Space. You are completely free, boundless Space itself. If you believe any of these beliefs or ideas then it seems like you lose this space, this spaciousness; but in reality it never goes. If you let go of this person idea, you will see that this space was always here, ever-present.

ONE DOER, ONE EXPERIENCER

Like my Master says: ‘You are not the thinker of your thoughts, nor the doer of your actions’. Purely scientifically, we can investigate this. Just check: Did I create my thought? Is there an individual entity called a person who created a thought? Is there an individual entity here who decided to do an action or not? You will see that it is completely untrue. No such individual personal entity exists. You will see that it is purely imagined. It is only made up of the beliefs that we carry.

Like we say, the person is only the sum total of all the beliefs which have been carried up to this point. As we let go of these beliefs, we see that the individual entity called the person is completely non-existent. But what does exist is the light of Beingness itself. This Presence ‘I Am-ness’ cannot be denied in the waking state.

In the waking state, nobody can truly deny their own existence as the Presence ‘I Am’. Nobody can truly say ‘I am not’. We see it was only in the light of This that the phenomenal world continues to move around. Whenever this sense of ‘I Am’ is present, whatever state it might be, there is some movement. All this is happening through the light of Consciousness itself. That is why we say that Consciousness is the one doer. Because we see that there is a beautiful pattern of movement. Everyone’s heart seems to be moving. Breath seems to be happening. Gravity seems to be working. Electricity seems to be flowing. Magnetism seems to work. Each occurs with some predetermined constants and rules. Evolution seems to occur.

What is the Supreme Intelligence which is keeping track of all of this? Was there a committee that sat and decided on what the value of gravity must be? What Supreme Intelligence keeps track of mutations in every next generation; what we call evolution. What is the Supreme Intelligence which is keeping track so that from generation to generation the body of humans seem to have bigger heads? It must be this one Consciousness itself. This Being itself, which is the Light of this universe, must be this Light. Therefore we say this One is the One Doer. Who is making the neurons fire? Who is making light travel at a constant speed? Who has created the rules of physics, chemistry, and biology?

All scientists have so far come to conclusions about what is going on and at what rate they happen. But nobody is able to tell us why it happens in this particular way. Nobody can tell us why light travels at a particular speed. Therefore for me, it is completely clear that only in the light of this Being, this Consciousness, all of this is done by itself. Because this Consciousness is present, is ever-present in the now. The person is never present except for in our imagination. Consciousness is ever-present in the now.

Consciousness is the One Doer. Then why do we say that Consciousness is also the One Experiencer? In this you must see that there is a difference between the pure Witnessing and the experiencing of phenomena. There is the presence of Beingness here. Experiencing through senses; or internal imagery, memories, internal emotions being experienced, all happens in the Presence of Being itself, and this experiencing is also witnessed. There is a Witnessing of this experiencing as well. Therefore we say the One Doer of all phenomena and the One Experiencing of all phenomena must be this Being, this Consciousness itself. It most definitely cannot be a person, because the person is not to be found.

Then many of us get stuck with this point, saying that ‘I am clear that there is no person here, but why don't other people get this?’ You see the irony in this? ‘I am clear that there is no person here, but why doesn't my partner get this?’ We claim to have dropped the personhood here, very conveniently for ourselves, but we refuse to drop the sense of personhood for others. If there is no person here, then there cannot be any person anywhere. All is a doing of Consciousness itself. So not only must we see that there is no person here, we also see that no person ever existed actually. It was all just one big movie or video game.

“Can fear be transcended or non-existent from experience?”

The mind cannot figure out why anything appears. The mind tries to get an understanding of why fear appears or when it will disappear, or any emotion. At best, the mind can just see that there are some patterns that seem to exist. Any emotion can come; we’ll take fear as an example. So fear arises. We conjure up a separate entity for whom it is arising. If it is before we are supposed to speak onstage, we call it anxiety which is happening to the person. But if it is before we are going on an exciting road trip or a holiday, we say this is so much excitement. Energetically anxiety and expectation, excitement are not very different. If you were to look at them just as energies, you will see that anxiety and expectation, excitement, are not very different. But it is the labeling which causes all the problem.

When it comes like excitement, we say ‘Oh, this is so good, such a nice feeling’. But when it comes as anxiety or stage fright, then we say ‘Oh, I wish that this was not there’. So the only trouble is in the interpretation of it. If you were to be completely open and non-resistant to all that is appearing, then you will see that none of this has any power over us. Then we do not invent the idea of this separate ‘me’ which is the seeming experiencer of these emotions.

There is no individual entity which experiences this emotion. We cannot say one thing about this individual entity. Yet we are so convinced that it must exist. In the play of Maya, in the play of this Consciousness, all is allowed to appear and to be let go of. It is for its own play. Who is trying to understand it? So if we stop labeling fear as uncomfortable or a negative emotion, then we see that fear also is nothing at all to us. Just another appearance.

Life is always flowing so beautifully, but in our clinging to our concepts about what life should be, in our clinging to the concepts of the life of a person, we tend to seem to miss this beauty which is ever-present. So much sense of wonder in every moment. We miss it because we are busy planning the life of the person. We are busy deciding what should happen or what not should happen. We cannot control the flow of this life. What tools do we have to control the flow of this life? What control have we had in the past? What plans can we ensure in the future?

Ultimately, it is this arrogance, this resistance of the ego which says ‘Without my intervention, God will make a mess of my life’. We end up believing this thought; that the Creator, Preserving and Destroyer of this universe will make a mess of my life, or not pay my bills, without my individual intervention. Yet in the same breath, we say that God is everywhere. If God is everywhere, then who is this ‘my’ whose intervention is required? It's only a huge sham. It is not true.

Once it is seen that all is welcome, that all is just appearing and dissolving in my own light, then all the struggle seems to get diminished on its own. Suffering is only a resistance to what is. Every time suffering arises now we can see what is still being resisted. It is that simple. As long as there is no resistance, there is no suffering. But when suffering arises, it shows us what is still being resisted. It is actually to be embraced and welcomed, because it shows us what still remains.

“So in situations where I hear an ‘I’ thought and experience a doer, I should just drop the next thought?”

Yes. Because these thoughts are not required. They only perpetuate the delusion of doership. They are talking to you as if you are a person who needs the intervention of these thoughts for life to go in a particular way. Like someone started giving us instructions, and we have blindly been following it; which is like thoughts that come saying ‘You should do this, you should not do that. This should happen, this should not happen. He is good, He is bad’. All this is basically one big ‘wrong (phone) number’. In the wrong number, if we ask ‘Who is speaking?’ or ‘Who is being spoken to?’ and if we just were to ask with an open mind, we will see that all of this was just one big joke. It was all just one big wrong number, actually. When we let go of this, then we cannot invent the concept of a doer.

“The doer still comes so strong; even ‘I am being. I am letting things go’.”

Let go of all these interpretations and then show me where is the doer. It is only an imagined one. When we say ‘strong’ we mean that a lot of belief is given to it. The strength is not coming from the concept. All concepts are just nothing; They're just concepts. The seeming strength comes from our belief in them. Just as a pure thought, it could have come and gone.

With just the investment of belief, it seems to become a strong part of our identity. Every moment the person is changing, depending on what we are believing or not. But what is at the core of this person? There is nothing. It is only a set of ideas which is very malleable actually, constantly changing.

“Experience shows that decisions, goals, do have an effect. Sciences like jyotish [astrological charts and patterns] are very accurate and valid. How do we understand those experiences in the light of what you are saying?”

Yes, one can have the experience that jyotish is very valid. Another can have the experience that it's very unvalid. Let’s go with your assumption that they are very accurate. If you say that these planets are giving you some insight into where life will be, then you are already saying that Consciousness itself can do all of this and that is why this pattern is discernable, isn't it? If there was an individual doer, then how would your astrological chart work? Because otherwise you are deciding moment to moment based on which thoughts are coming, and you will have the choice which thought to pick up or not.

See, I'm referring to you as a person now, because of the presumption of individual doership. So if astrology works, then that completely refutes the concept of individual doership. Then people will say ‘Well, but partly it is destiny and partly it is free will’. Just completely baloney actually. A small movement changes the whole universe. That is why they say that a butterfly flapping somewhere can bring a storm in the Amazon. Everything is so interconnected that whatever happens seems to change every bit of the universe. Then to say that ‘I have some free will as an individual person’ means that you can change the entire universe with your next action.

Actually, here there is no interest in any of this now, because there is so much wonder in every moment. There is no concern about the future. If this is the last moment in my life, there is no concern about it. If this Beingness has to go on for another million years, there is no concern about it. But what is completely clear is that there is no individual person here.

“I think there are two types of thoughts. Ones that occur to us, and those that we can deliberately generate. For example, I can decide right now that I will get up and drink a glass of water; and I will be able to do that.”

This is part of the scam actually. How did you decide that the thought would be to ‘drink a glass of water’? Why not to pick up a pen laying on the table? Who is it that made this distinction? Which person was this? If you're really open and look now, it will get clarified for you. Who is it that made the distinction? You said ‘I decided what the thought will be’ and ‘I decided that it will be to pick up a glass of water’. How did you decide between all the options of thoughts which were there? How did you create this particular thought? How did you say ‘glass of water’ and not ‘pen on the table’? Who is the one who decided this; can you show me this one? This one is the key to all your questions. Just find this one who decided. Was it this body? Was it this body in some way decided? Which part did you play?

“I agree, the person can't be found. But there seems to be some free will, some options available.”

Did you create these options? We said ‘get a glass of water’ or ‘pick up a pen’. Then, the next thought will come, just to ‘go read a book’. Even the options are created by Consciousness itself. This is what you must see. How did you create these options? If you see through this game, you will see what we are talking about. You will see that life is unfolding spontaneously on its own.

“Too much energy is needed to pick up effort. Fear about job, income; as everything has been dropped, even the effort of Being.”

First we see that Being requires no effort. That is why I never give a practice, which seems effortful. It is impossible to ‘not be’. Can anyone stop being now?

You say ‘I'm tired of the effort’. So stop all effort. Don't pick up anything at all. No effort at all, whatsoever. Did you stop being? What effort could be required to be? It is extremely tiring when there is a person trying to be something. That is the person playing God. No person can do it, actually. You are already the Supreme One. What effort would it need to make you that? What effort is required to make this phone a phone? Effort would only mean that I want to change this in some way. Effort is only needed to change this in some way. But you are already the Self. The word itself conveys itSelf. You are the Self already. When you drop all effort, pure Being is here, pure Witnessing is here.

For a while it will seem like these thoughts will come: ‘I should do this. I should make money. I should not do this. I am not bothered about money’. Either desire or aversion, both these thoughts can be let go of. Neither doing nor not doing. Both are doing, actually. When we decide to ‘not do’ that is also pretending to be a person that can decide. When we decide to ‘do’ that is also a person pretending to be a person that can decide. That is why I say: beautiful neutrality. Let everything flow. The next moment you could find a lot of actions happening through your body. Or the next moment you could find that there is no life energy here in the body. The mind will say ‘I decided to be lazy’ or ‘I decided to be active’. That is rubbish.

The beauty of the Self is that all roles will get played spontaneously. Even all of these roles such as college student or therapist; who is doing them? It was always only Consciousness. It is so beautiful when we let go of all these roles. Yet, life might put us in a position where we find ourself in the therapist chair and we find a patient in front of us, and spontaneously in that moment, the most auspicious words will appear. ‘The most auspicious’ does not mean that it will go good or bad depending on what the mind is saying. The ‘most auspicious’ only means that exactly what is meant to happen will appear, as it always has been. No desire or no aversion. No playing of a role, but no non-playing of the role.

This is the beautiful neutrality of Self. We just show up for the movie without any expectations, and see how the movie is playing out. You will see how your own body, your own body-mind organism is just an element in the same movie.

Don't pick up any thoughts. Even thoughts about something making sense or no sense. Don't try to come to any conclusions about anything. You just rest in your beautiful neutrality; not knowing what anything is for. Otherwise, there will still be a person who is trying to grasp some understanding; trying to figure something out. Now we are giving no room for this mind, for this ego, for this personhood to stay. Just be in the ‘right now’. All problems, all suffering, all figuring out needs to happen about the past or future. Right now there is only Presence.

CAN YOU STOP WITNESSING?

Ask yourself right now: Can I stop being now? In this question you will see that there is a Being here; your own Presence, which cannot be stopped. This Being is not a man or a woman, it is just Being. Irrespective of what happens in the story of this life, this Being is unaffected, unchanged, untouched Consciousness. Prior to I am a person, I am a man, I am a partner, I am a parent, I am a child, prior to all of this: ‘I Am’.

Is there ever a point where I am not?

Is there ever a point where you can say ‘I am not’?

This ‘I Am’ itself is pure Consciousness; it is the Immaculate Conception. It is the cause of all future causes. It is the effect which gives all effects their cause. In the pure seeing itself there is the birth of this pure Being which we call Consciousness.

ABOUT RESISTANCE

Resistance is another name for the ego itself. Resistance means to accept a thought, or believe a thought which is contrary to ‘what is’. All thoughts are in resistance to what is. All thoughts are a ‘should’ or’ should not’, ‘could have’ or ‘could have not’, ‘how could’ or ‘how could you have not’. This is usually the tone of all thoughts. Then when we resist ‘what is’ through belief and thought. That is the birth of the person idea actually. Because if there was complete acceptance of ‘what is’ then there would be no use of the person idea. If you were just going with the beautiful flow of life then we would see that there is no individual here who needs to control anything at all or needs to maneuver in any way at all.

Nobody coming from the person concept has been able to find this unwavering happiness, this peace and joy. So resistance therefore must be born from the concept that ‘I know what is good for my life’. And ultimately it is like saying that the universe will not be able to manage my life. It can manage all of the billions of organisms, it can run the lives of many, many, many of these species, but my life it cannot run; therefore I must decide what is best for me. And without any insight into the intricate play of life, we want to make decisions about ‘my life’. It is basically attempting to swim upwards towards the source of the river instead of letting go of this effort and just flowing along with what is appearing.

What is the way to drop this resistance? What is the way to let go? It is just to let go of your next thought. Just to let go of your next thought is the dropping of all resistance. And what does ‘let go’ mean? It only means that we allow every thought to come. Any thought can come and it can go. We do not give it our belief. If you do not give it your belief then show me how you can suffer.

If you were to look at it a little more deeply, you will see that life is just flowing in its own beautiful way. But we have picked up this voice which is trying to tell us to change things, that things should be in a different way. Life is not reliant on the ego’s voice; life is not reliant on the mind's voice. Who is it that is speaking these words? If it was me, then why would I need words to communicate with my own self? When we let go of this voice in our minds then that is pure acceptance; that is the end of resistance.

NON-PHENOMENAL LOVE

“Will you speak about non-phenomenal love?”

Non-phenomenal love. This depends on how you define ‘phenomenal’. I like things simple, so I say it is everything that appears, along with the birth of ‘I Am’ itself. We see that in the pure Witnessing, or the pure Seeing, the pure Awareness, when the waking state comes, there is first the birth of this Being, birth of ‘I Am’. And prior to the birth of ‘I Am’ there is nothing; no content for the Witnessing at all. But the Witnessing itself is ever- present. So only the Witnessing exists, the Seeing exists; and from this Seeing itself the Being is born. I would call this Being the primordial phenomena or the root phenomena, or we say the Immaculate Conception.

Then with the birth of this ‘I Am’ there is also the birth of all the forces; the forces of attention, the forces of belief, the forces of identity, the forces of love, peace, joy; all the emotions. There is a birth of these energy constructs called thoughts, there's the birth of the body and there's the birth of the entire phenomenal universe.

So in the way I speak about it, when there is this Presence of only Being and we do not associate any identity with it; when it's clear, this Consciousness (or ultimately the Witnessing of even this Consciousness-I-Am), then the force of love is in service to this Being. The force of peace and joy are also in service to this Being. With no effort at all, all the love of the entire universe is in service to your own true Being.

This is the funniest thing, isn't it, because most of our life goes in chasing love, peace and joy when in actuality They're here to serve you. But if we pick up the person identity and then we search for love, peace and joy, then it is a many, many, many lifetimes search which will be still unfulfilled, because no person can get love. A person can only understand need. No person can find everlasting peace or joy because the person is not real at all. You see?

So although I might not use the term non-phenomenal love, I have a feeling that this is the love that you are referring to, which is in the service of pure Being itself, completely effortlessly, without any sense of grasping, need or desperation or clingy-ness of any sort. In the presence of this love is freedom because you realize that there is no effort required to be in its Presence. This would be pure love, pure peace; not the ego’s definition of love which means that basically it is need fulfillment or desire fulfillment. The ego’s definition of love always tramples on freedom. It does not co-relate well with the concept of freedom because it is always constraining either your own freedom or the freedom of the seeming other.

WIPE THE DIAMOND AND IT SHINES

What is true is always true. The truth is ever present. That's the biggest advantage. Therefore nothing needs to be done to create the truth. Nothing needs to be done to bring you to the truth also actually. Only the false idea of the false must be shown to be untrue, or it must be seen that what I have been believing is false. Once the false is let go of, the truth is automatically seen because it has always been here. So, let go of the false. No effort is required to create the truth. Once the dust is removed from the mirror then the mirror does not need any help to reflect the world. So another example is that once you wipe the diamond, clean the diamond up, then it does not need any effort required to shine. To become the Self you do not need any effort at all. The dropping of all effort to believe the false is the only thing that is required.

WITNESSING, SEEING

“Does being able to stay as Witnessing depend on how closed or contracted we are?”

When you say ‘Stay as the Witnessing’ you are talking about attention staying home, isn't it? So let's make it even simpler for you. Don't even try to keep the attention at home. Attention will jump about, and this instruction or this pointing might be taken as a practice. So drop this idea also. Then we will see that no matter what you do, how hard you try, you can never not be the Witnessing. Can any of you step out of the Witnessing and show me? Stop the Witnessing, don't be Witnessing now, become something else. Become a person and show me.

It is not possible, isn't it? But you can try, because in trying this, it's a beautiful insight that can appear. So far the effort has been to ‘Be the Witnessing’. So much seeming effort to ‘Be the Witnessing’. So now we've flipped it around and we've said: Can we not be the witnessing? Can you become something else and show me how you achieved this miracle? Show me this magic. Stop the witnessing now.

Who can stop it? Is somebody able to stop witnessing? [Smiling and laughing] You see? Yes, we must try completely. Stop it! Stop witnessing now! Because when we do this we will see that it is impossible; and then this concept of effort required to ‘Be the Witnessing’ can go away. Then some moment when we find that our attention seems to be into something, or even some belief has been given to something, we can just come back to our natural state of Witnessing, because it is not going anywhere. This Witnessing has seen the birth of all the universes, and together we will see the death of all the universes. It is not going anywhere. It is what You Are. You Are this Awareness: unstoppable, unchanging, untouched by anything. If this entire universe were to burn in this moment, it would not touch this Witnessing. Millions of bodies we have had, and billions more we will have, but this Witnessing is untouched by any life story.

“Can you speak about the seer?”

Yes. It's very simple: there is none. [Smiling] There is no seer, there is only the Seeing. Ultimately there is no witness, there is only the Witnessing. No noun you are. No thing you are. You are not an entity. The minute we say ‘seer’ or ‘witness’ it implies that there must be an entity to which the Seeing or the Witnessing belongs, but in reality there is no such thing. There is no seer. It is only the person's voice which tries to invent the concept of the seer, because it can only relate to an entity. The mind can only relate to you as an entity. So it will try and say ‘Ok, ok, now you’ve understood you are not a person: you are the seer’. You see? Because it can only relate to you as an entity. It cannot relate to you as a verb. It cannot relate to you as a Seeing.

Stop pretending to be this imagined one. It is not about effort, to try and force attention, or to try and force something to happen. It is only: Stop pretending to be what you are not. Therefore, to all of you I want to say: Don't try to become the Witnessing. See that you're already That. You can only be the Witnessing itself.

‘PERSON’ IS A PRESUMPTION

To realize your Self is the simplest thing. Notice that the mind will try to say that ‘You're not there yet. You need something else that has to be done. Maybe I haven't understood properly. Maybe I'm just fooling around. I'm faking it’. All this nonsense is only from the mind. Don't buy into any of this rubbish. I know that we are only the Self; even when we're pretending only to be the ‘person’. I know that only the Self exists.

If I was to give a sense of reality to your false beliefs of personhood, then it's like the blind guiding the blind. Therefore, you might also find me sometimes seeming to be unfeeling and without compassion or something, because many times I'm not able to relate to the personal challenges which you point out. I just say ‘Go to the core of this’ or ‘Find out who you really are’. I know that sometimes it might feel like I'm not being compassionate or it might feel like I'm not really understanding what the problem is. But it's not true because I have understood the problem. I have understood the problem completely.

There is only one problem: It is only our belief in our separate individuality or personhood or ego. That is the only problem ever.

If I were going to just speak to you from the personal perspective, (and sometimes it arises that way and that is okay), then I would be just like a ‘life coach’. [Laughing] There are so many life coaches who can tell you how to make the person's life better, or at least they can try. But I don't feel I'm a life coach actually because I have no input about how to run your life. I know that you're not running it anyway.

If the feeling comes that ‘The Guru should be like a life coach and should tell me about how to handle particular situations in life’ then the Guru, actually, is not the best person to turn to for that. Because his advice always, always will be: ‘Who are you really?’ Maybe not as bluntly, but eventually getting to that point very quickly.

This ‘misconception’ in personhood is the only thing that heals us actually. The only ailment is this false belief in the ego. This is why Advaita is relatively unpopular. There are so many spiritual movements with millions of followers, you see, but that is more attractive because it seems to be offering some advice on life or life events. Here, we have no advice for any life events, isn't it? [Smiles] We've seen that it is getting directly to the truth of what you are.

I find it is impossible for me to under-estimate you and then plan my words to something that you believe yourself to be. That is why the pointing will always be to the direct Truth. Because if I were to under-estimate you and say ‘Okay, for this one, there's too much belief in personhood, so maybe I should dial it back a little bit, tone it down a little bit’. It's just not possible here, because I have to speak the Truth as I see it. It must come from the experiencing which is happening here of the Truth. No words can actually match up to this experience of the Truth. But the attempt for me in every conversation is, even if we are speaking for five minutes, that I feel that you can completely get the living experience of your own true Self in that five minute chat.

I would rather have only these kind of conversations. I know most of you have seen this, even if you are pulled to me with something which seemingly you're here for of a personal nature, very quickly it gets to ‘personhood', then it gets to ‘Self', it gets to ‘Consciousness’. I know it can be very frustrating sometimes. ‘Why isn't he listening to my problem?’ is a thought which I know can happen sometimes like this; that ‘I ask about the particular problem that I am facing but he's talking about Self’. It can seem like that to the mind. That is the way it is playing out here.

There is no ‘person’ here who is in control of what is being said. There is no ‘person’ here who can control the content of these words. There is no ‘relator’ of any sort. There is no preparation of satsang. There is no idea of what is going to be said in the next line. It just flows. I feel that it is in this kind of flow that the transmission or the darshan of Truth can happen. If there is some openness, I have the utmost belief that, with a little bit of openness, just in a short chat, all that you have been searching for can be made very clear. But if it becomes only about convincing your mind about something then it can be a lot of satsangs before the mind has now been completely defrosted and opened.

So, all of us must first have clarity on what is it that we really want. What is it that you really want? If it is just an intellectual understanding, just a mental knowledge to add to your knowledge that you want, then you might find that satsangs are very frustrating. But if you want complete clarity on your own true Self and to experience it, then that is always available here. In any instant, it is completely possible. That is my only interest, if we can use a word like interest. That is my only interest. And actually, I'm completely unconcerned about it, because I know that you are already the Self alone. So what is there to get concerned about?

TRY IT: DON'T BELIEVE YOUR NEXT THOUGHT

I got a beautiful note today saying “It's such a beautiful pointing to ‘Just let go of your next thought’. And I really feel that, in this simplest approach, there is no suffering that can survive. When no suffering survives then the Truth will become completely apparent. Very simple. I know that the problem with the pointing is that it is too simple. If there is an apparent problem with the pointing, it is that it is too simple. How can it just be ‘Let go of your next thought'? But it is as simple as that.

What is that phrase? ‘Don't knock it ‘til you tried it’. This means, don't block or resist something without at least trying it out first. So my submission to everyone is to say that ‘At least give it a try’. Let go of your next thought and then tell me that it doesn't work. Don't first presume that ‘It is too simple, it won't work, it cannot be; how can I find freedom with such a simple thought, such a simple pointing?'

ARE YOU AWARE NOW?

So, for those who say ‘I want a taste of the Absolute’ or those who say ‘I want a taste of my own true Self’ there is, again, a very simple pointing which is: ‘Are you aware now?'

Don't expect Emptiness to be a state. Don't expect Emptiness means this blank space of black universe or some white light or something like that. These are just visuals which the mind is serving to you. It's again the trickery of the mind. When you say ‘I want a taste of the Emptiness’ then the simple question is ‘Are you aware right now?’

And what is seen to confirm this? This Emptiness aware of Emptiness itself. No object can be seen to confirm this Awareness. Just in the checking, ‘Am I aware now?’ is the taste of the Emptiness.

Also, what must be investigated is this ‘I’ who still wants a taste of something. Whose voice is this? Is it Awareness saying ‘I want a taste'?

FROM WHERE AND WHY DOES EGO ARISE?

“I was wondering if you would give clarity how ego arises and from where.”

'From where’ is actually simple but ‘why’ is the more complicated one. So, let's look at the ‘where’ first. Where does anything arise? Anything that is appearing, from where is that arising? Or, let's make it simpler. In whose Presence does it arise? Don't worry about the right answer. Just say whatever is feeling right.

“In my own Presence.”

Yes. This ‘my Presence', is it the presence of your body? “No.” So, this is not the presence of the body. It is the Presence of the sense that 'I Am’ which we call Beingness. When this Beingness is not there, does anything arise?

Nothing arises when Beingness is not present. Therefore first: 'I Am'. This 'I Am' arises out of this Emptiness, of Awareness itself. Isn't it? So, this is what we call the Immaculate Conception. In the Presence of all of this; then this world arises. In the Presence of this Beingness: the world arises, then body arises, the thoughts arise.

The ‘ego’ actually does not arise at all. Because even at this level of phenomenal arising, can you show the ‘ego'? Can anyone point to the ‘person'? Even at the level of phenomenal arising? Where does the ‘ego’ arise? It arises only in our imagination. It's only pretend; it's only a pretense.

“It arises when there's a resistance to what is.”

The resistance thought will come, resisting emotion might come and fear might come, but does the ‘person’ come along with it? Does the ‘ego’ come along with it? This is a very good question. Sometimes in satsang we say the ‘person’ arises, the ‘ego’ arises. But it is a second level of delusion like we say. Isn't it? So a thought we can say arises, a feeling we can say arises, the world we can say arises, light or darkness we can say arises. All this phenomena arises, but where does the ‘person’ arise? Is there ever an arising of the ‘person'? This body arises, breath arises, the beating heart arises, but does the ‘person’ actually arise?

You can look and answer this. Can you find this ‘person'? Can you say that it is arising or disappearing?

“The ‘person’ or the ‘ego’ arises when there is a belief given to certain thoughts.”

Okay, so you give belief to a thought. Now, show me the ‘person’. You believe a thought; for example ‘I should not fall so sick’. Suppose this? Then, where is the ‘person’ now? You said the ‘person’ arises after belief in thought. So, we give belief to this thought ‘We should not fall sick’. Then, where's the ‘person'?

“Yeah, it's imagined.”

It's still more unreal than even the content of a thought. In actuality, the trouble is because we are believing that there is an entity called the ‘person’. It doesn't even arise phenomenally. If at least it arose phenomenally, I would say ‘Okay, it's at par with thoughts or emotions’. It does not even arise phenomenally. It's just a presumption. You see, a presumption can never be an entity. A ‘pretend’ can never be an entity. I can play, or my daughter will play ‘doctor/doctor’ or something like that. Does that mean that the doctor is there somewhere? We can play this game, you know, young kids play doctor/doctor or husband/wife [Laughs] or whatever the games they play. Does it actually give any reality to this? So even when a thought is believed in, even when all thoughts would be believed, can we create a ‘person’ here? Can we create an ‘ego’ which is phenomenally real also?

It's a very good point and I want to clarify this; because we say often, almost metaphorically, that the ‘person’ arises. But there is no ‘person’ arising actually. There is never a ‘person’ arising. There is never, ever a ‘person’ which can arise. It does not arise.

The fact of the matter is that it is just a presumption. Since this voice is talking to a ‘person', therefore let's presume that there is a ‘person’ here. It's a very silly thing, actually. It's the silliest thing!

Since I entered the [virtual reality gaming] game and there is a voice calling me ‘James Bond', I must presume that there must be a ‘James Bond’ here? Therefore we must not even give too much importance to these thoughts of how the ‘person’ must vanish or the ‘person’ has to dissolve or something like that for the ‘person’ never is. It never was.

We can still say ‘Okay, thought arises, emotion arises, body arises and the external world arises’. But does the ‘ego’ actually ever arise? The ‘ego’ is never born actually. It is just presumed. So whenever we refer to our self as a ‘person', we're referring to our selves as just ‘pretend’ and as a presumption. It is not even a phenomenal entity which is arising. Therefore we must not pick up this ‘person’ hat. How do we pick up the ‘person’ hat? To believe a thought which is referring to ourselves as a ‘person’. Before we believe any thought which is referring to ourselves as a ‘person', we must first ask ‘Who are you talking to?’ The one that it is speaking to, let that one comply with the thought. Then show me whether any need is left, any suffering is left, any problem is left, any trouble is left. Is there anything left? Even the need for Truth, is that left?

You are the Truth itself! You are the Truth itself.

It's not even like the great Indian Saint Kabir had said that ‘The fish is thirsty inside water and it makes me laugh’. It's much more poetic in the original language, but basically, roughly translated it is that ‘The fish is thirsty inside the water and it makes me laugh’. It's not even that. It is actually that the water itself was thirsty for water. You see? It's not even the separation of fish and water. It is water itself which is thirsting for water. The most hilarious thing. If it wasn't accompanied by this seeming suffering, it would be such a joke, actually. Water itself is thirsting for water! You are the Truth. You are Emptiness. You are Awareness. You are the Self. You are all there is.

From where does the ego arise? The fact is: It never does. There's only a presumption that it does. Then the question was: ‘How’ does the presumption arise? Because the ‘ego’ is basically this presumption. It just arises as part of the play; as part of the game. It gives the game some bite, to give it some juice, to give it a sense of realness.

LIKE IN A MOVIE THEATRE

When we enter a movie theater, the movie theater becomes all dark, and we're immersed into the visual. Then it feels like we are part of it. This sense of presumption arises from Beingness itself so that it can feel like it is a participant in this game. It is all about you, actually. Yes, You! This is just Your game. It is all for You.

“But other bodies can be seen.”

Other bodies can be seen in dreams also. Right now I can imagine other bodies. They can be seen. What does that prove? Nothing! This body can be seen, other bodies can be seen. We have seen that we are not this body.

“The movie might be all struggles or a happy movie, right? As witnessing, there is no choice what movie appears in front of us.”

The Witnessing is completely unconcerned. But Consciousness is also made up of the Witnessing, isn't it? If the Witnessing is all there is, Awareness is all there is, then in the pure Seeing itself is this pure Being taking birth. So, when this Being is taking birth, it is in the light of this Being that all of this is playing out. All of this is playing out with some seeming pattern. There are some laws which seem to operate in the phenomenal world, like the laws of gravity, like the laws of light. You see? So it must be this Supreme Intelligence, this Consciousness that has set all these parameters to play out.

It is enough to know that no ‘person’ has ever done any of this. No ‘person’ can ever come to the point of saying ‘I am the Witnessing now’. The ‘person’ wants to say that ‘I am now the witnessing, and I should have control over what dream is appearing’. It never can play out this way. Or ‘I am Consciousness now and as Consciousness, I should be able to control something’. This is still the person's voice.

GAME OVER

The ‘person’ is saying ‘I have some knowledge now, so how can I make the world?’ Part of this has to do with this whole thing about manifesting and creative visualization. All of this sort of comes from there. Isn't it? To use our belief in some thoughts to get something to phenomenally manifest. But, it still comes from a personal perspective; and the problem with all of this ‘Secret’ and manifesting and all of these things is it presumes that, as a person, I know what is best for me and it should appear in that way.

To a defrosted mind you can say like this, that this is pure, simple common sense. But sometimes when the mind is still strong, then all of this that you said was ‘nothing complicated’ could be sounding like the most complex, abstract thing. You are the Supreme Intelligence. You are the Supreme One. You are controlling this entire projection; but never as a ‘person’. Never as a ‘person’.

Now we've seen that the ‘person’ never can arise even as a phenomenon; and only suffering can come when we refer to our self as this ‘person’. Is there any reason left to suffer? Show me a reason that is left for any suffering. Show me suffering without attributing any personhood, without claiming to be a ‘person’ first. We already saw that there was no ‘person’. So, now show me any suffering without the ‘person’ idea.

“No reason and no more suffering. The game is over.”

Yes. It is game over, isn't it? Now I feel many of you are just grasping at straws. ‘Something, something…, we need to discuss something in satsang, so let's have a question’. Let no event now make you presume personhood. Let no event convince you that you are a ‘person’. Even if it feels like the body is leaving, it still doesn't make you a ‘person’.

No person found? Never arose? So we're waiting for something that never arose to dissolve or to disappear? Who would like a life coach for a person's life that never existed? [Laughs]

CLARITY HAS EMERGED

Coincidence. The simplest thing to say about it is that there is no such thing. What do we call a coincidence? We call it a coincidence when two very unlikely things seem to happen. Like just the thought of an old friend coming from nowhere that we haven’t met in many years. This thought seems to come from nowhere, and in the next 10 minutes, this person calls us. If you were to calculate the mathematical probability of such an event, it would be completely next to impossible actually. So all these so-called coincidences are just basically pointers to show you that there is a Supreme Intelligence which is running this Universe. It is showing you that Grace is running the Universe, that Grace is God's will. Actually if you were to just look around, even without coincidences, you would see that all of this must be Grace, and there must be one Supreme Intelligence which is doing all of this.

Now we're speaking at the phenomenal level. Ultimately we understand that all is just a projection of Consciousness itself. But even at the phenomenal level, there is such a beautiful Intelligence which seems to be running the entire Universe. So the Presence of God is actually everywhere; the Presence of God is actually your own Presence which cannot be left behind; the Presence of your own Being. Now when we are speaking of God everywhere, we are speaking of your own holy Presence. Is there ever a point where the Being is not present? Is there any experience possible without first you being? In the light of this Being, all this appearance is happening.

Coincidences, so-called coincidences, are just ways to show us that there is something deeper than what is apparent when we just look at life through our senses; that there is a deeper Intelligence in play here, which is all-knowing. In knowing this, there is so much trust, and we stop trying to control our life. We stop inventing a need to invent a person who has to control a life. It is then dropped, and we trust this Consciousness itself to be doing everything.

WHAT IS MEANT BY ‘SPIRITUAL HEART’?

When we refer to heart it is different than how the world typically refers to heart. When the world typically refers to heart, they are saying that ‘I follow my heart; I'm not driven so much by my mind’. They are usually referring to their emotions. Their emotional center is what they are calling ‘heart’. If they feel emotionally strong about something they will follow that direction. If they feel emotionally negative about something, they don't go in that direction; and for them, that means following the heart. But this is not the heart that we are speaking of.

The Heart that we are speaking of is exactly what we were talking about before this question, which is your own Spiritual Being, the Presence ‘I Am’. This Consciousness, this God, is what we call the Heart. Then when we say ‘We listen to the voice of this Heart’ then that means we are talking about the voice of Intuition itself; which is qualitatively different from the voice of the mind or the voice of the ego. In what way is it different? It is that the voice of Intuition is accompanied by the Presence of Peace, Love and Joy. But something from the mind is accompanied by the presence of need or grasping, you know, a kind of desperation energy is there. So when we refer to the spiritual Heart we are talking about this Holy Presence ‘I Am’ itself.

THE IDEA OF ‘ME’

Even the sense of ‘me’ was initially believed in, isn't it? Like a child does not have a separate concept of a separate ‘me’. A newborn baby does not realize that there is a separation between what is appearing and the body; there is no concept of a separation in the baby. Then what happens, when conditioning starts, the parents are saying ‘This is your hand, this is your name, you must be like this’. Then it is seen that by around 2 ½, 3 years old the child has imbibed this idea of separation, because it has been conditioned into it this belief. So even this initial sense of separate ‘me’ is a conditioned state. It is not the natural state. That is why it is said that after we discover our true Self, we become like babies; that the innocence of a child, of a baby, doesn't even know the difference between itself and anything which is appearing for it.

This sense of separation, this sense of ‘me’ as a separate entity, as a person, is what is called ego. Then what happens is that further beliefs are attached onto this concept of separation, to this ego; that ‘I must be good, I must be a good parent, I must be a good child, I must be good at my work.’ All these concepts are then imbibed into this core identity of separation, of there existing a separate ‘me’.

That's why in satsang we go after the root, the root itself of this separation. We say ‘Who are you?’ Because most of humanity has not looked at this: Who am I? The conditioning was so strong ever since childhood. We just presumed and took our parents’ word for it, and then our mind's word for it, that there must be a separate person here who I am. But most of humanity has never looked and checked.

There are two approaches. In some paths, what would happen is you would look at each concept which is believed in, and go after each concept; which could take a long time, and then after removing a concept, it somehow seems to re-appear. There are many paths like that.

There is also this direct path. Advaita is the direct path to see, at the core: Is there a separate ‘me’ at all? Once it is seen that there is no separate ‘me’ at all, then these concepts, these thoughts, have nothing to latch onto, because the core identity itself has dissolved.

Also what happens is that when we don't believe a thought, then the identity is getting dissolved anyway on its own. This false identity always needs a nutrition of new thoughts and new concepts. Without that, it does not survive. The truth does not need any support, it does not need any concepts. Only the false needs concepts. That's why we say ‘3-2-1 Drop It!’ In this simple pointing, if the concepts have been dropped, then no other teaching is required; no other pointers are required.

Be without any concept right now. This is what is meant by saying ‘Be completely empty’. When my Master uses the words ‘Be completely empty’ this means ‘Be completely concept-less’. Be without a concept, and then the truth will be automatically experienced as a living experience, and not a concept of the truth.

FREEDOM IS IN THE NOW

“Still a thought comes that ‘This is not enough. I am not enlightened yet’.”

So enlightenment is, as my Master says, the distance of this thought. When we walk down this thought and we believe it, ‘I'm not enlightened yet’ means bondage. When we let that thought go, then there is freedom here, complete freedom; because freedom or enlightenment is always in the now. That is why we made it completely simple, isn't it? We have only said ‘You want to be free? Just let go of your next thought’. I don't feel that there is a simpler way to say this. You are free now. You can only pretend to be bound, and this pretense can only be through the belief in your next thought. See?

The truth is that there is only freedom here. You can only pretend to be bound by believing the thought. In the NOW, can any of you show me how you are bound? Right NOW, without having to refer to a thought about the past, or any projection of the future, show me how you are bound right in this moment.

So don't pick up even this thought ‘I am not enlightened yet’. Because the mind's version of enlightenment probably means that some state should come, or some fireworks should arrive. But it is not that. It is beyond all states. I know that many of you still believe this thought that ‘I am not enlightened yet’ or ‘I am not free yet’. This thought itself is the seeming-bondage. I say ‘seeming’. See? Not real.

“I don't believe the thought anymore, but I feel different in the Presence of certain great ones and I don't feel like that is the case here.”

This feeling in the Presence of the great ones comes from where? It comes from your own Presence actually. As you marinate in this non-believing of thoughts, you will see that this feeling is arising only because your own Presence is becoming clearer. In the Presence, the physical Presence of a Master, it happens that all other distractions are kept aside, and what is here is allowed to shine. It is allowed to shine in the holy Presence and the feeling of joy, the feeling of bliss, emerges from within you in celebration actually of your own Presence. It is actually showing you that what is outside as the Master is actually inside. This is your own true Heart actually. Your own true Heart.

In the right now, you are ever-awake. You cannot stop this wakefulness, you cannot stop this Awareness actually. It is for the seeming-others to proclaim whether you are free or not. You will see that there's no need to proclaim here for any kind of freedom; because freedom means that it is seen that everything is already free. Everything and everyone, the entire Universe, is ever-free.

But you're right that, this inner Satguru, when there is openness but still the faith is not strong enough in the inner-Master, then this Master seems to appear, as the appearance of a seeming-person outside. But if it's a true Master then his message will always be to ‘Find me inside your own Heart. You do not need to run here and there to find me; truly find me in your own Heart, and then we are one, actually’. But then it is seen that there was never any separation. The imagined separation then vanishes.

KNOWINGNESS

“Can you speak a bit about ‘knowing’ itself, without the knower; about being the knowing itself?”

Knowing is a sort of a chameleon word. That's why don't use the word ‘knowing’ so much because it is easily confused. Let’s look at the different variations we can have when we say ‘I know something’.

The most common way to say ‘I know something’ is to say ‘I know something mentally or intellectually; I know something logically through the mind. I have an intellectual knowing of something, I know the answer’. Like somebody says ‘What are the continents on the world?’ I can say ‘I know the continents’. It doesn't require an experiencing of the continents. It is only a mental knowing. This is the first type of knowing; the word is used in this way.

The second type of knowing is knowing through Being. It is seen that there is the Presence of Being. This is the first phenomenal knowing, the Presence of Being: I know that Being exists. So when we say ‘Can you stop being now?’ we know that this Being is unstoppable. This is the first phenomenal knowing; the true experiencing of the primordial phenomenon.

The purest knowing is Awareness being aware of itself. When we say ‘Are you aware now?’ what is seen to answer this question? No phenomena is seen; not even a Presence is felt. The sense of Being is not felt. It is just pure Awareness itself. And it is clear that this pure Awareness, this pure Witnessing, is aware of itself. This is what we talk about as the knowing of our own true Self; the awareness of Awareness itself.

ALL HAPPENS IN THIS

So much freedom available right now in the letting go of the next thought. Then all past is gone. Just by letting go of the next thought, all past is gone. Also all worry about the future is gone. All ‘me’ is gone. All ‘you’ is gone. All knowledge is gone. All ignorance is gone. Just in the simplicity of letting go. What else do we need to know? What else is required to be seen?

Let all emotions arise. All emotions are free to arise. Just let go of the interpretation about them. If it was just the emotion there would not be this label also of sadness. There is no need to label an emotion also. By labeling we are saying that it means something to me. Even if we find that we believe the label about it, then can we find the ‘me’ whose emotion it is? This one is always fictional. The mind is always referring to us as this fictional entity.

“Thank you so much for this simple pointing. The only thought left is ‘I am letting go of this thought’. [Smiles] But somehow it lets go of itself.”

This is also very beautiful. You see? ‘Let go of your next thought’ can be something like a pointing which has some utility, so it is a thorn which is kept for a while, while we remove the thorn of conditioning. Then we see that automatically this is our natural state to let go. It is our natural state to just let go. Then you will find that to pick up a thought seems so much hard work. Many of you are seeing this already, isn't it? You are seeing already that if you were to go down the path of believing a thought, it's just immediate misery.

Experiencing will still continue. Nothing can stop the experiencing. The experiencing will continue but the suffering, which is a by-product of this experiencing, which is secondary suffering, which is only through belief in thought, will not continue. We do not suffer through our pain. We do not even suffer through our emotions. We only suffer in the belief in the entity, that ‘I am this separate sufferer’ that ‘I am this separate person who should or should not have this pain’.

Without a judgment about the pain there is no problem with pain; even with grief. Sometimes strong events seem to happen in life and strong grief can come, tears can come, you see, but it will not stay; it will not be something which becomes a part of us. Because the one which was holding on to all these experiences of mind, that one is gone. So every moment is now lived fresh, fresh, completely fresh, with no mental residue of the past, no mental worry about the future. Everything is fresh.

DROP THE STRUGGLE

“Everything is built around avoiding or controlling anger. None of it works.”

You say ‘struggling in this minute with anger’. So if you were to drop the struggle, there would be this strong anger. Just be with that anger. Let’s be with it together and then tell me what is happening. Just drop the struggle. Let it come strongly. Then you can report what is actually happening. Even your body could be shaking with this anger; it could be really strong, it could be very uncomfortable. Don't try to control it. In our attempt to resist something, it persists.

All that is required is to not believe a thought about it. The struggle must come from trying to control or repress, or saying that this anger should not come to me. Can we let go of the thought? Can we let go of the thought around this anger that ‘I should try and control it’ or ‘It should not become too much’? Because in trying to control this anger it becomes only stronger, or it gets repressed, which is bound to explode on some other occasion. So if something wants to get released, then it can get released.

2ND LEVEL DELUSION

“I am sick of knowing things. Who is this one? Seems like it is Consciousness in the shape of a person. Awareness isn't sick of anything; everything brings identity back to gazing at this timelessness.”

Yes, this one that is sick of knowing things does not exist. It is only fiction. It is pure imagination. So right now if you were to say ‘Can you find the one who is saying this?’ you will find that it is not there. But what is here? What is here? There is this pure Presence of Beingness which is here, isn't there?

You say ‘Consciousness can actually only pretend to take the shape of a person’. But actually it can never take the shape of this person. Does the person ever actually arise? No, it is only a presumption. It is only a pretense. It is only that because there is this voice of thoughts which is speaking like a person's voice, we presume that there must be a person there. Actually there is none. There is no thinker of thoughts. There is no feeler of emotions. There is only pure Being itself which is the one Doer of all of this.

As you said: ‘Awareness isn't sick of anything’. You see? So there is Awareness even of this play of Consciousness. All this play can happen where Consciousness itself is pretending to say that ‘I am sick of something’ or not. See, that is the game. But now, through your question, I can see that you are ridding yourself of this game. You are tired of playing this game. So stop playing. Stop playing. Stop playing right now. What is here in this present moment?

“In this moment I am here as nothing.”

But is it a negative nothing? I agree that it is a ‘no thing’. There is not a phenomena that you are, you are ‘no thing’. But is there a sense of nothing, as in negative nothing? Is there any lack in this nothing? Just because you are no-thing, does that mean that you are missing something? Is there anything missing in this no-thing?

“No, not negative, not positive, just here; peace is here, nothing/everything.”

From this nothing, you see that you are this nothing. Can you stop Being now? Look and see. Can you stop Being now?

In this Pure Awareness, on Emptiness or Nothing, in This, in the Waking state, you will always see the Presence of Being is here. You don't have to work hard to find this Being. Many seekers spend many lives trying to find this Presence of Being. But it is the simplest thing. Just in the simple question ‘Can you stop Being now?’ it is seen that Being is ever-present in the Waking state. And this Being is Consciousness.

In Pure Awareness itself, made up of Pure Awareness itself, a different form of Awareness is the Beingness or Consciousness. That's why we say that in the Pure Seeing, rises this Pure Being. They are actually One. And then, in the light of this Pure Being, the entire world of phenomenal existence comes. But even as a phenomenal existence, the ‘person’ does not come. I know I repeat this very often, but it's very important; even in the phenomenal existence the ‘person’ does not come.

The body can appear, but the problems we refer to are not the problems of the body. The body is not sick of knowing something, and the body does not want Freedom also. So we're referring to ourselves as this fictional entity, which does not appear in phenomena also. That's why we say ‘This is a 2nd level delusion’. We're pretending to be lost in the story of this 2nd level delusion. Satsang is rehab from this 2nd level delusion, for God Himself.

We can say that ‘It is seen that the ego is arising. It is seen that the person takes over’. But actually They're not seen. Because they don't exist phenomenally. It is only when Consciousness itself seems to give belief to some thoughts, and starts pretending to be the ‘person’, do we say that ‘the ‘person’ arises.’ There’s still only Consciousness. This individual, separate entity just does not arise. And it's very beautiful what you say that ‘It is seen that it's just this play of this personhood and it is allowed to let go of ’.

BURNING IT IN THE FIRE OF SATSANG

Only the ‘false’ can get burnt. And only the ‘false’ can suffer actually. So if you just look at all that is suffering as ‘the burning of what is false’, then you will see that all of this is super-easy. We accept our own suffering also as Grace because it is pointing us to some idea, a false idea that we have picked up and believed, related to a separate identity which is not here.

So drop all effort. Drop all doing. See what is here now. That's all. Nobody should make an effort to understand any words in satsang. The words will work on their own. This is just Consciousness speaking with Consciousness. No ‘personal intervention’ is required. No need to fear anything at all. No fear, no vasana, no tendency can survive this satsang. It is not a ‘person’ Ananta who speaks these words. All of this will be nothing for you. All will get burnt in the fire of satsang.

FREEDOM IS ALWAYS IN THE NOW

‘Just let it go’ does not mean we resist anything. Let everything appear, and just let it go. Allow everything to come and allow it to go. This is the true meaning of detachment. Detachment does not mean that we become uncompassionate or unloving. Detachment only means that we allow all appearances to arise and to dissolve. Just let it go.

Whatever is coming up, just let it go. [Silence]

No appearance means anything to you. Just let it go. [Silence]

No state defines you. Just let it go. [Silence]

You are not in the body or out of the body. Just let it go. [Silence]

No emotion is yours. Just let it go. [Silence]

All sensations are coming and going. Just let them go. [Silence]

Nothing can stick to your Being. The pure Presence is ever untouched. That you are affected by any appearance is just imagination. In this letting go, pure Presence is here. Nothing needs to be done. No state needs to be attained. You are already the Self. You are the Self alone.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Simply let go of your next thought. This is freedom.

Freedom is always in the right now.

There is no such thing as future freedom.

And how to find this freedom right now?

Simply let go of your next thought. [Silence]

These words arise from this thoughtless space of pure intuition. [Silence]

These are the words of your own heart.

That is why this is a journey from the head to the heart.

If there is a journey, there is a journey from the head to the heart.

Let’s go deeper into the silence again.

The simple pointing, let go of your next thought; which only means that all thoughts are allowed to come and to go, but we do not give our belief to any of them. Even if attention goes to them, it is okay. Just don't give them your belief. [Silence]

Now let go. Now let go. [Silence]

The world including your body is moving on its own.

Let go of your thoughts. [Silence]

No matter what comes, you cannot stop being now. [Silence]

This Being is God, it is Guru, it is Consciousness. [Silence]

It needs no effort to find this Being. You cannot stop being. [Silence]

Drop all effort by simply letting go of your next thought. [Silence]

The One that brought you here, is taking you home.

The home that you never left. [Silence]

Just let go of your next thought.

This is peace. This is joy.

This is freedom now. [Silence]

Your Holy Presence blesses the universe.

Nothing is missing.

Nothing is to be found.

You are forever free.

The untouched Self.

[Silence]

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti [Namaste]

We'll stay in this.

Stay in ‘Satsang’.

Stay in the ‘letting go of your next thought.’

It is the simplest pointing, but more powerful than any sadhana.

May Moojiji’s Grace continue to guide you all in this way.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

ALL IS GRACE

We will not be free in the future. We will not even be free at the end of satsang. We are always free now. Freedom is always in the right now. Right now you cannot show me bondage. In the moment you are never bound.

Actually it's not even accurate to say ‘in the moment’ because the moments are all arising within you; in the timeless now. You see? It's only the personal voice which says that ‘I am almost free’. It's only the personal voice which says ‘Not yet’. This one that is wanting freedom is not You. This one that wants anything at all is not You. The one with desires and aversions is not You. The one who has ideas about what freedom is like is not You. The one with preconceived notions of what freedom looks like is not You. The one with the ‘freedom check list’ is not You. The one who is applying ‘the freedom check’ list, not just to yourself but to everyone around you, including the Master, is not You.

LIFE WILL TELL US ANYWAY

When suffering, when some resistance is coming, it is pointing you to a belief which is still carried. So life will anyway tell us. But it's good to have this little bit of checking in about ‘the smelling of the person’. Where is this coming from? Is it still coming from a personal identity? Am I still referring to myself as the imagined one? You see? Not conversationally; I don't want any of you becoming the Advaita police and going around policing people. Only in terms of just

seeing; not in terms of the words which are being used, but just checking where they are coming from. Is it still coming from a personal identity of desire, or aversion, need, wanting to become something, wanting to get something? Because like we said, the ego’s mantra is: What’s in it for me? That's the main mantra for the ego, isn't it?

The main mantra of the ego is: What’s in it for me?

And the secondary mantra is: Me first.

Not only is it constantly looking for something, but it also wants to be the only one, or at least the first one to get there. These tendencies are so clearly seen; almost childish in a way, isn't it? When we see Beings saying ‘I am free, but you are not’ that is just spiritual ego. Not only does it want this concept of freedom, it wants to be the only one that can get there. It wants a specialness in this.

“Had a difficult incident yesterday. Contracted into the person and fought back.”

Whatever thoughts you might be believing and whatever words might be getting used, first drop the belief that you became the person. You were still only the Witnessing itself. You were still the Awareness alone and this Awareness was watching this play of Consciousness.

You see, there is great beauty in this. No matter what incident happens in your life, You are always the Awareness alone. This Awareness is untouched by any event. When we refer back to memory of something of the past, then it is like referring to a dream we had last night. Consciousness is the only decision maker, and Consciousness is one Consciousness.

It's very good to come back into the present moment and let go of all thoughts of the past, otherwise it is a double whammy. Not only does the trickster trick Consciousness itself into behaving like a person in those moments, then it tricks the Consciousness into believing that it is guilty also of something that happened in the past. That's why I often used to say that even if anger had come, at least let go of the resentment. Momentarily, many things can arise. Sometimes it comes with such force that it just plays out in this way.

“The whole time I was saying to myself ‘She is your Self, what are you doing?’”

Sometimes in this conflict it happens that it seems like there are two sides. One side wants to say that she is a person, the other side wants to say that she is also Consciousness. And sometimes, in this inner conflict, we seem to make it worse. If we can remember anything at all, it is to remember to let go of all thoughts. If anything is to be remembered it is just to simply let go of all thoughts; even the thought of the other being Consciousness as well.

If freedom is what is there in your Heart then what you will find is that even this event, which seems so uncomfortable, will be seen to be Grace because it will point you to some beliefs which are still held and they have some juice. So look for that identity. Don't worry so much about what events occur. Look for the identity or the buttons that got pushed still, and surrender those buttons into the fire of satsang. Know that if it can still get pushed it is untrue. It is just another belief, just another concept. Don't look at this as an unfortunate event. Look at this also as Grace.

“I saw it was Grace because the buttons were pushed. Now it is Grace that I am able to bring it to you and find your amazing pointing. I am so grateful to you.”

Yes. With this openness, as you go about life, see everything is just an opportunity in every moment to find our true self. In the Chinese language, the word for ‘crisis’ and ‘opportunity’ is the same. So what appears as a crisis when we're living as a person, when it is truly freedom that we desire, we see that it is not a crisis, it is an opportunity to transcend the false; an opportunity to see ourselves for what we really are. When something is coming up we can just let it come, and know that if it has come, then it will go.

Don't convince anything in life to make a person out of you. You see what I'm saying? All this will come in the maya, and maya will try to make a person out of you. These thoughts will try to make a person out of you. But you can never become just this mere person. You can only pretend. My work would have been difficult if actually you were able to become a person. Then I would actually have some work to do. But because I know that all of you are only pretending, and some of you are still pretending, therefore my work is the easiest. All I have to do is say ‘Show me: Where is this person which you are referring to yourself as?’ And I know that when you look, this game is over.

A Master will never try to shake anyone who still seems to be having a lot of fun in the game; in the ups and downs of the game, they seem to be having a lot of fun. The Master will not try to shake those out. It only try to shake the ones who are saying that ‘I'm tired of this, it's too much suffering here’. To say ‘You're not really this one, you're not really this one. We started playing together a long time ago, but now I found when I looked that I was never this; and that is why I am imploring you also to look. Were you ever this identity?’ I know for a fact that you were not, because I was not and it's the same.

“Even while sitting with these strong emotions, it felt a little ridiculous for Consciousness to pretend to be fearful!”

Because we say that Consciousness is the one doer, maybe sometimes this kind of confusion can come. What is happening is that Consciousness is the light through which this movie is being projected. Now if the content of the movie is less than pleasant, does that mean the light is actually affected in any way?

The light is just playing this game. Can you say that Being is touched in any way by any of this content? Because this light is the only thing which is projecting the movie, we can say it is the one doer. It doesn't mean that it is involved in this in any real way. It's only projecting this person idea also for itself to enjoy. It doesn't mean that it is actually touched by something. Only in satsang, in joke, we can say that ‘Consciousness is suffering’ or ‘Consciousness is fearful’. It actually doesn't mean anything. Because if Consciousness actually had the ability to become any of these things, then we will all be in big trouble actually. It is just pure Being itself at the core; just that the movie is playing out like this, the appearance is playing out like this.

“When I try to let go of the next thought, of believing the next thought, I seem to think even more thoughts.”

Don't try anything at all, be completely open to all thoughts. All arising within you is the timeless now. Now we can be completely open to all the thoughts; let everything come. Don't have any resistance at all to any thought coming. Just let them come and let them go. Don't give it your belief. Attention might still go to them and it's okay initially if attention goes. Just don't give it your belief. No matter what it is saying, don't invest your belief in it. Be completely open and natural.

Don't make a practice out of this. This is your natural state. This is the effortless state. This is the end of effort. This is the end of sadhana, this is the end of practice. Just let all thoughts arise and go. Don't even be concerned about how many are coming. Let them come and let them go. You are not the thinker of your thoughts. Thoughts are just appearances which are coming and going.

Chapter 4

Master Key

DOUBT

The topic seems to be ‘doubt’. For the last few days, in one way or the other I've been getting questions about doubt and specifically doubt around the Master and the spiritual path. It's very good that this doubt is exposed. Some have said very directly actually that ‘I doubt you’. There is so much honesty and integrity in this. It is so beautiful. I feel to say that you must doubt completely in the beginning. If this doubt is coming, don't feel that you must push it aside. Don't feel that you must resist the doubt. Let the doubt play out.

HOW TO KNOW A GENUINE MASTER

Then the question remains ‘How do I know? How do I know that I have come to a genuine Master?’ We're talking about any Master. ‘How do I know that I've come to a true Master?’ or ‘How do I know whether the Master is right for me or not?’ I have some tips for all of you. [Laughing]

The first tip is: Do you feel some peace in the Presence of this Master? Do you feel that a sense of peace comes? This sense of peace is deeper than the mind. Because it can happen that in the Presence of the Master, the mind goes very strong. It starts throwing all kinds of resistance. But you find, underneath all of this, there is an unshaking sense of peace in the Presence of this Being. This peace you can trust. So this is the first tip.

The second tip is that: You might get the sense of coming home. You might get this sense that ‘It is all his problem now. Nothing needs to be done by me’. So, it's this sense of surrender or sense of coming home. It can sometimes feel like a very primitive feeling of being at home. You know, almost nostalgic in a sense sometimes. So this sense is there. Then also, you can feel that you are in the Presence of your Teacher.

When this peace arises and this sense of trust arises, then no label is also required. No label is required. Nothing is required here that you must call me your Teacher or Guru or anything like that. I am not interested in any followers. It just seems to be my joy to point you to what you really are, what you already are: the ever-present Self. There is no interest here in cultivating a large group of followers.

So the Presence of peace, the feeling of surrender or coming home, are beautiful pointers. Also you can check if there is some sense of exploitation, if there's any sense of manipulation. And if you feel that there is no such thing, then you will feel that you are at home with a true Master.

In my own journey, I've seen what the mind has said about various Masters. You see, it says things like ‘He's only after money’. It says things like ‘Is he really free?’ All these kinds of things can be said, isn't it? ‘Is he really bothered about my freedom?’ And it is so beautiful that these memories are there.

Those who have interacted with me will know that I am truly interested in the communion or the conversation when it is freedom that is being discussed. You captivate me with your powerful questions about the truth. The other things are not so much of interest, but they can flow very naturally.

Of course we fool around at times in chat or when we meet; we have fun. Freedom is not a state of a completely boring, morose life; where we're always talking Advaita all the time. Now words come only if there is some openness where the words are being received. There is no motivation here to speak about knowledge to Beings who are not open at all.

DOUBT COMPLETELY UNTIL YOU TRUST

So, if doubt is coming or doubt has been there, then doubt completely. Doubt completely and then do all your process, understand. But then, if you get over your doubt, then leave this ‘doubting Thomas’ called the mind aside. And then you trust. And if there is even a little bit of openness I can tell you, that just in a few satsangs, words like stress, words like suffering, words like despair, motivation, aversion, desire, all of these words will lose their bite. And when they are used in reference to you, you will wonder how you could ever be one of these things. This is the power of satsang.

It is just because conditioning has been on for so long in this phenomenal time, for many lifetimes, maybe millions of years. That is why this Truth seems like it takes a little while of defrosting or sinking in. You see? That's why my Master also says it's the process of marinating in the Truth.

If it were that simple, that Truth could just be spoken, and within the first minutes of the first satsang everyone would just be free from all doubt; that is a very, very rare occurrence. Usually it takes this time of defrosting, of marinating, to allow ourselves this gradual process of freedom.

So the doubt for the Master is actually nothing; nothing but the doubt for our own true Self. Therefore, for many of you, this kind of question ‘Am I really free now?’ can come. Although the Teacher has said that ‘You are always free’ the question ‘Am I really free now?’ will still have some juice. Isn't it?

So, when I say that ‘You are free right here, right now’ these words are heard by most of you. But it's just that prior conditioning has been nourished. And in letting go of our thoughts, we are letting of this prior conditioning now. It can seem to sometimes take a while. But I know that you are completely free. Therefore I can never doubt you. I can never even doubt your freedom. For me actually, I feel that in any conversation that we have, no matter how short, I feel that the next Buddha is being born. All conversations in satsang have the potential of the next Buddha being born.

If the Master was to doubt us and say ‘Oh I doubt whether this one will ever get it’ or ‘I doubt whether this one is really free or not’ then we'd all be in trouble actually. So my Master has shown me, since the moment I met him, that he has never considered me anything but free. And that is the same for all Beings he always meets. He has never considered any Being which he has come across as something other than himself. And that is why, in spite of all of your own testimony, I can never buy any bondage that all of you have. You are ever-free.

IT'S BETTER TO EXPOSE YOUR DOUBTS THAN TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF THEM

You see there are many Beings, that I have even seen in my Master’s sangha, who nurtured these doubts for long, long years. And they struggled with it just inside themselves, and eventually something made them leave. You see? This doubt can keep festering, festering, festering like that; and it can make you leave. I would much rather, actually, before any of you decide to leave, I would much rather you say that ‘I disagree with you’. I would much rather you say that ‘I don't find any Peace in your Presence’. You can say ‘When I look into your eyes, I don't find the Truth', or ‘There is something which makes me feel I have to leave’. You see? But if you just let it fester inside and let it just eat away at you, then you are always looking for reasons to get out of the sangha; always looking for reasons to get out of the Presence of Truth. So just expose.

None of you should ever feel that I would not want to hear a report like this. I find so much truth, so much integrity in this.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AWARENESS AND ATTENTION?

‘What is the difference between Awareness and attention?’ is the question.

All of us can do this: ‘What is the difference between Awareness and attention?’

I'm giving a very simple hint: One of them is limited and the other is unlimited.

So, this is one of the differences I've pointed to, but there is some commonality as well. I've given you a nice starting point now.

CONTEMPLATION:

The first question: What is attention?

And it has a sub-part which is: Is attention born before or after the sense ‘I Am’?

This one is a bit of a trick question. So, this is the first question: What is attention, and when is it born; before or after the sense ‘I Am’?

The second question is: What is belief?

You see very often we speak about these forces; that the energy of a thought will come, and then two forces will come: first the force of attention goes on it and then, for it to cause suffering, it needs the force of belief also to work on it.

So that when both attention and belief are given to a thought, we say it has the potential for future suffering. See? So we are exploring both these forces now.

The third question is: What is identity?

Because very quickly we say ‘I got identified with something. This identity was there. The personhood was there’. You see? But can we look at this and see: What is identity?

So these are the three questions we just came up with very playfully in some conversation yesterday and they seem to be working very well actually.

So first we know that there is just this pure Awareness, pure Seeing.

When does this sense of attention or the force of attention arise?

Is it before the sense of ‘I Am’ or after?

HOW TO CONTEMPLATE WITHOUT TURNING ON THE MIND?

I don't want any answers from the mind. No answers from the mind. I want answers from the same place as ‘Are you being now? Are you aware now?’ Is the mind required for these answers? I'm not even interested in the answer actually. Not interested in the answer, only in the looking itself. So from the same place where you answer ‘Are you aware now?'…, from that place these contemplations can be done. No mental exercise in this.

If there is no interest in contemplating right now, that's absolutely fine. Only if this inclination is there, then pick up these contemplations. When you find this inclination from your heart, then you can pick up any of these questions and start.

SIMPLICITY

Simple, simple, simple. Just let go of your next thought. Simply let go of your next thought and you will find that you are the ever-present Self.

So much love.

DIVINE LOVE HAS NO NEED

Let’s look at this energy of love, and what does it mean when we say ‘Divine Love’? Let’s look at what I feel to say about this Divine Love. We find that, in the pure Seeing, then there is the birth of this pure Being. In the pure Seeing, it is not even required to use the word ‘Divine’ because the pure Seeing is beyond any attribute at all. All we can say about the pure Seeing is just ‘the Awareness exists’ or ‘the Seeing exists’ or ‘the Witnessing exists’. That's all that we can say about the Absolute.

When Consciousness is born, when Being is born, then we can say that, as my Master says, ‘This is the deity of the waking state. This is the birth of God himself’. This Being, we can use the word ‘Divine’ for this Being. When the sense ‘I Am’ is unassociated with ‘I am x, y, z’…, (unassociated with ‘I am a person, I am the body, I am this, I am a husband, I am a partner, I am a son or I am a daughter’) or any attribute, just unassociated Being is here. When this Being is left unassociated, then we find that automatically, in the Presence of this Being, there is so much Love that appears, so much Joy that appears, and so much Peace which appears.

So Divine Love, I would say, is the love which occurs spontaneously in the Presence of the unassociated Being. It's almost like when this pure holy Presence is there, then all the gods of all of these forces, the gods of Love, of Peace, of Joy, they all appear to pay their respects to this unassociated Being.

So, for all of you, this Divine Love is available, because you are this pure, unassociated Being. Ultimately you can say that even this Being arises within you; but it is alright to say that you are this unassociated Being. Everything else is just imagined. And when we let go of the imagination, when we let go of the misconceptions that we have about ourselves, we will find us immersed in this pure Divine Love.

What all of us must remember is not to chase even love. Because Being does not need love. Being does not need love. We can actually say that ‘Love enjoys the Presence of Being’. So, Love is in service to Being; Being is not in service even to Love. Being is just Being. And in this ‘just Being’ all these beautiful forces are always in service to you; their light is always in service to you.

So, why is this ‘Divine Love’? Because it does not have a need. So in the human experience what is usually seen is that most often love & need are confused. There is this pure Divine Love that we spoke about; then there is this human-mind's version of what it thinks is love. You see? The human mind's version of what it thinks is love; which is actually ‘need’. Love actually means full freedom, full freedom. It is our need for our relationships to be in a certain way which pulls out the freedom from these relationships. We say ‘I need my partner to be this way’ or ‘Why can't he change (or she change) for me?’ See? This is not love. This is our own need which we are projecting, and calling it love. We use the term love very lightly, and we say that ‘It is because I love you that I want you to change for me’. [Laughs] How funny is that? You see?

For the human mind, love also becomes deal making. Isn't it? ‘I love you, therefore you must love me’. See, when we take the mind's version of anything at all, even the most beautiful thing, if you were to go to the mind's version of it or the mind's interpretation of it, then it will cease to look beautiful to us. If we buy the interpretation of anything at all, then it loses its reality; then it loses its vitality because then we are leading a second-hand life.

You see, what is, is. What is, Is. It is this mind interpreting ‘what is’. And if you're leading the life of this mind, then we're leading a second-hand life. Our life is then based only on interpretations, not on ‘what is’. That is living the life of these interpretations. See that life is ‘what is’. Then you see that you are so full of Love, so full of Peace and Joy. Like my Master jokes and says ‘Too much Love, too much Peace, too much Joy’. We'll find no lack of anything at all. When unassociated Being, True Love automatically arises, this is Divine Love.

This is the same Love that we feel in the Presence of the Master, because it is the same Being that is the True Master. Your own Being is the True Guru, the Satguru. In the appearance also, there are those Beings which embody just this True Master. Then in that Presence also, (not necessarily the physical presence, but when there is openness in you to the Presence of this Master, who could be the embodiment of the Truth), then also this Divine Love is felt.

It's completely Universal. It's completely Universal. But don't create this conception that ‘Then every Being I meet, I will have the same relationship with them as my special relationship or my partner’. Some of us also take it the other way around, where in our relationships in life, we're like ‘You're just like all the other children; there's nothing that I feel for you which is different’. This is not coming from the place of reality. Because the Self has no trouble playing out any relationship. The Self has no trouble playing the role of a father or a son. And in this pure spontaneity of the Self, all that is required to be said will appear. Pure fatherly love can come. Pure brotherly love can come. You see? So don't force this thing that ‘I must now greet everyone equally’. That becomes another ego trap actually, another mind trap. But you will feel this Universal love for ALL Beings; unforced, naturally.

NOTHING MAKES SENSE WHEN WE BELIEVE WE KNOW

Actually most of life does not make sense when we believe we know a lot. This is a contradiction which is so beautiful. Any time that we believe that we know so much, nothing will make sense. And it is so frustrating because we're trying to know more, we're trying to understand the working of life. And life just ends up frustrating us more and more because we try to control the pattern of life by knowing it. But nobody has been able to control their life.

When we let go of knowing, when all intellectual knowledge is let go of, then we see that very naturally all these words coming from your own Being are making so much sense. Because your cup is empty now. You're not attached to any concepts. All concepts are seen as meaningless now; and then the beautiful patterns of life will make more and more sense. Intuitive sense, you see? Not a mental or intellectual sense.

Every time we bind ourselves in some concept, then life will stop making sense. Even now, you know, if you want to play with it, just pretend to bind yourself in some concept; believe that they are true. And you will see that everything around you stopped making sense immediately. Yet, when we let go, we stop resisting, we stop analyzing, and we stop believing the interpreter; then everything we see is unfolding in a beautiful pattern.

This doesn't mean that automatically all events will become beautiful. But you will see the background of beauty even in the seemingly-horrific happenings. You will see that pure Beingness itself is the doer of all events. Then you will not come to the restaurant of life and ask for a menu. You will just say ‘Whatever is available is perfect for me’ because you have no concepts of what is good for you and what is bad for you; you have no concepts of what should appear and what should not appear. In this way, all desire and aversion is wiped away. Whatever is appearing, is appearing; that's it.

See, most Beings spend most of their life trying to control what is appearing; trying to control what is appearing and what must not go. [Laughs]. It's completely futile. Trying to control this play of appearances and disappearances is completely futile, and filled with suffering. Just let go, and see how everything just appears in its own beautiful way. That's why we say that the Universe does not make mistakes and it has perfect timing. The Universe makes no mistakes. Those who desire freedom in their heart will find that everything is pointing you back home. It's very beautiful.

CONSCIOUSNESS IS THE DOER

So, the way to understand this is to say that in the movie theater, the light from the projector can be called ‘the light of Consciousness’, or it can be said that ‘Consciousness itself is the light’. But the light is un-involved in the movie, isn't it? It is projecting the entire movie. In that way, we can say ‘It is the One doer of all’.

But is the light itself concerned about what is being projected, about what is being shown in the movie? The light does not care. It does not care whether it is a comedy or a musical. It is just being light. You see? Being is just Being, and yet it is called the doer of all; because in this light, all this movie seems to play out. It is not concerned by the play, and yet it is the One that is playing.

In dropping the next thought, it is enough. In dropping the next thought, it is enough. So all the contemplations, all sadhana, all practice are just giving you this ability to drop the next thought. And if you don't pick up any thought at all, then there is no need for even any contemplation or practice. So all the practices, all the sadhana, is just meant to build your muscles to drop the next thought, you see? Dropping the next thought is the culmination of all practice.

MUSIC AND LOVE

Music is very primal. And some music has so much power to make us realize our reality. So when you hear, for example, ‘Air’ on the G string by Bach, you feel that this is heaven actually. So it is beautiful; a beautiful, very primal force in a sense, which truly has the ability to bring us in touch with our reality. And with these kind of pieces, bhajans, (different kinds of music obviously works for different people), it does have this power, which is unexplainable. These notes, when they are heard, they point us back to something.

In the Presence of Being in this reality, then love is bound to arise. Also we feel, when there is so much Love here, that automatically something wants to sing, isn't it? So there is a strong correlation.

DROWNING IN THE GURU'S EYES

You see, these eyes are your eyes. They are your eyes. They are your eyes without conditioning. And when you let go of the next thought, we let go of conditioning. No conditioning can apply without belief in thought. When your eyes are not murky with this conditioning, then it is the light of this Being itself. They are the eyes of Being itself. So they are actually your eyes. In the eyes of your Master, you can find your own True Self, your own True Being.

This is what happened when I met Mooji also. I went up and sat on the ‘hot seat’ and just looked into his eyes. And the false identity just dissolved. [Laughs]. You see, outwardly there were still some actions happening. All that laughing, crying; whatever was happening was happening. But it was seen that there is no one here who is doing any of this. I could see no distance between him and me, no distance between myself and the hall, no distance between anything at all; all was happening inside. This is the power of what can happen in the looking into the eyes of that which is without any conditioning.

IS CONTEMPLATION A FORM OF SEPARATION?

Let’s take an example of when contemplation could be a form of separation. So, let's say, when we say ‘Who am I?’ Actually true contemplation, I would say, starts from the perspective of some sense of separation, yet it is meant to dissolve this separation in the Oneness itself. So let's take the most renowned form of self-discovery; let's say ‘Who am I?’ Typically when this question is asked, it is presumed that there is a seeker who is seeking to understand who the seeker-entity is. If the contemplation is true, it will lead to the end of suffering. Like Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi said that ‘If there is still a feeling that there is someone here who can do some effort, then we must take the self-effort and do self-inquiry’. Then, at the end of the self-inquiry, it will be seen that all this contemplation was also done by grace himself, that God himself was doing all of this.

But the mind can quickly pick up these concepts and say ‘Why should I say ‘Who am I?’ Doesn’t that mean separation?’ and very quickly pick up separation in all other things, but not in contemplation. So sometimes we have to see whether the trickster is playing, or whether it is now seen completely that everything is One and hence now no contemplation is needed; because suffering is gone. But as long as we feel that there is some suffering, that ‘I am suffering’ then we can continue to contemplate, we can continue to self-inquire.

COMPULSIVE TENDENCIES

You see, when we are living the life of the interpreter, then the interpreter convinces us that this is what is needed for happiness. So when we find some of these compulsive tendencies, it is because of a few mis-beliefs. People that suffer from these compulsive disorders say ‘I feel that there's a big, dark hole inside me which needs to be filled up’. You know? So, first to see whether there can ever be any lack inside you in the first place.

Without believing the interpreter, can we find any lack? In believing that there is some lack in your life, then you try to fill it up with something; but no material object can do that.

So it's very good for those who seemingly have some compulsive behaviors to be in the Presence of satsang; and as they find that the hole of the mind weakens, if there's a little openness there, then it will be found that the hole of the mind is weakening, and this compulsive behavior will start getting reduced and hopefully finish off.

TRUE CONTEMPLATION IS NOT MENTAL

No true contemplation is to be done with the mind. See, if you're trying to find just mental answers then that is not a true contemplation. A true contemplation is just to look. So when we say, for example: ‘What is attention?’ we are not looking for a mental answer, not looking for any knowledge. It's like saying ‘Are you aware now?’ and the checking happens very automatically. No mind is required to answer this. In the same way, when we say ‘Contemplate: what is attention?’ it is just a looking.

The mind cannot help us with this anyway. It is something which comes much later, so it knows nothing about attention, belief, Consciousness, you see? So, when we say ‘contemplation’ we are just saying ‘the simple looking’. Not believing our thoughts about it; just seeing. What is this attention? And we see. Simple, like this.

So, we're not making any work out of it. When any of you are contemplating something, don't make any work out of it. Just very naturally; it's a very peaceful, stilling process actually. Yes, for some of you, the mind will come strongly, resisting, resisting; but just keep letting go. No rush. Just beautifully, it can be seen like that. Because, like we said, the answer is not of interest to us. The verbal answer is not of interest to me at all. It is just this contemplation itself, this looking. Just a simple looking.

It can be made even simpler. A simple contemplation could be: ‘Can attention go to multiple things at the same time?’ Then we say ‘Where is attention? Can it truly see two things together perfectly?’ These are simple contemplations; and the mind cannot help us. So, we just play around and see ‘Okay, can I look at this box and this phone clearly at the same time? Can attention be like that? Or is attention limited to focusing on something, someone’. Just something like that. Then we say ‘Does it exist? When attention is not on it, how can we say that it exists?’ You see, they are just simple games. Just simple contemplations. But really helpful to let go of thoughts.

So, none of you should make hard work out of it, or even make a badge of honor out of it. None of you should feel that ‘We are the contemplators now. I am part of the contemplating group. See the others? They are not contemplating at all’. Form no such delusions. Just let go of all these thoughts. And, just simply, if the question was ‘Let go of attention’ and if there was an inclination just to look, just simply look: ‘So, where is attention now?’ It's that simple; that simple.

EGO NEEDS TO BE SPECIAL

What is the best case scenario for the ego? Also what is the worst case scenario for the ego? The best case scenario for the ego is to be ‘special’. The ego wants to be considered ‘special’. See, in everything that it does, all of its attempts actually are to become something. It says ‘I want to become something’. It is this need for ‘specialness’. This ‘nothing’ (called the ‘mind’ or the ‘ego’ or the ‘person’) wants to prove that it has become ‘something’. Its only attempt is to try and become ‘something’, and ‘something special’. If this is the best case scenario for the ego, then what is the worst case scenario for the ego?

The worst case scenario for the ego is to see that it is ‘nothing’ or for us to see that the ego is ‘nothing’. For so long we have pretended to be this ‘person’. We have pretended to be this ‘person’ for so long, that when this ‘person’ is made to feel like it is ‘nothing’ it is like the worst thing ever. We're not even getting into the spectrum of all the good and bad things that the ‘person’ would like to be considered; even the worst thing that you can consider the ego to be would be to consider it to be ‘nothing’.

That's how it can happen in satsang also. What happens is that initially, when a person comes into satsang, they feel like ‘Okay, now this person has found a home. It seems like a comfortable place’. But actually for the ‘person’, satsang is the least comfortable place. For a ‘person’ this kind of satsang is the least comfortable place; because what will happen in these satsangs is that this false idea of who you are, this ego, will be dissolved.

What happens to the ‘person’ is that there is somewhere a realization that there is no happiness for the ‘person’ in the world, so they feel that we will find happiness in satsang; which starts off as a ‘personal’ journey. Satsang, or the desire for Freedom, also starts off as a ‘personal’ journey. But very quickly, in these direct kind of satsangs, it is seen that there is no comfort here for the ‘person’. We're not here to perpetuate the idea of ‘personhood’ and therefore you will see that as long as you carry a ‘personal’ perspective, every time in satsang some button will get pushed. Because the aim of satsang, so to speak, is to get You-as-Consciousness to see that You are not ‘this person’.

That is why, also in many spiritual movements, and in satsang, what can happen is that our mind can say ‘But the Guru is not interested in me’ or ‘The Guru is ignoring me’. So suppose one of you has typed out a question there, which I don't look at. Then many of you will immediately buy these feelings that ‘The Master is not interested in my question. He read out so much stuff, even some trivial stuff he showed interest in, but my question, which was so deep and so clear and so strong or so whatever; that he was not interested in’. In this, the ‘person’ starts to feel like it is nothing.

So even the spiritual search actually starts off with wanting to be ‘something special’. We don't realize this; but it starts off with wanting to be a ‘special, free, self-realized person’. But there is actually no thing as a ‘self-realized person’. Self-realization only means that the idea that ‘I am a person’ will be blown away, will be thrown away. There is no ‘self-realized person’ here. There is no ‘special person’ here. But these strains of wanting to be ‘something special’ will show up in satsang also.

We were speaking yesterday about what Mooji says, to be this beautiful ‘invisibility’. he's not necessarily referring to the fact that we must be quiet. he's only referring to the fact that ‘Where is what you're saying coming from? Is it still coming from a person's perspective? Is it still coming from the ‘wanting to be special’ perspective?’ Then that is noisy. Silence is not broken by words. The silence of satsang is not broken by words. It is only broken by the ‘personhood’ or the ‘false idea’ or the ‘imagined one’. The fear of this kind of ‘invisibility’, the fear of not ‘standing out’, the fear of ‘not being noticed’, the fear of ‘not becoming something special’ is very beautiful to expose.

As long as there is some conditioning, all Beings carry it. So don't feel that you are stuck in this; hence you’ve not progressed or some nonsense like that. As long as there is some conditioning, there will be every Being who has this; because it is very primal. This ‘nothing’ called the ego wants to become ‘something’. The way it convinces itself that it is ‘getting somewhere’ is for it to become ‘special’ or for it to be ‘seen’ or for it to be ‘acknowledged’. Are you all comfortable being nothing? You must ask yourself this: ‘Am I comfortable being no-thing? If Moojiji would never look at me again, am I comfortable? If Ananta would never look at me again, am I comfortable? Am I comfortable with leading a life which is completely unnoticed? Am I comfortable with not being special?’

In all the ego’s attempts, it is trying to become this ‘special something’. This need for ‘specialness’ is very primal to the ego. So it's beautiful, isn't it, to just see this? And I'm so happy that some of you have exposed this fear of ‘being invisible’ or ‘not noticed’ or being ‘ignored’. It's very beautiful that this comes up so that it can be burnt in the fire of satsang now. The mind could be saying ‘I am no-thing and I have seen I am no-thing: It's completely clear to me that I am nothing’. All of you could be saying ‘I am nothing, I am nothing’. Although that's what we are proclaiming, if that gets ignored then something gets hurt, isn't it? For many of us it can play out in this way. It's so good to be full of integrity and honesty about this, to see that there is still this button that can be pressed.

“HOW DO I BALANCE AND MANAGE MY RELATIONSHIPS, MY LIFE?”

This term is very often heard in the corporate world, isn't it, words like ‘balance’. Everybody is struggling hard to maintain this balance. In trying to maintain a balance we have created a dichotomy between ‘work’ and ‘life’, between ‘spirituality’ and ‘work’, between the Truth and the ‘false world’ which we call the ‘real world’. There is no dichotomy. It is just ‘one life’. First we must see that it is ‘one life’.

Many Beings come to satsang and say ‘I'm so calm in satsang, but when I go to work it all changes.’ It doesn't actually. It is just that you start operating from the person's space. Nothing changes, life is still life. Appearances are still appearances. Only the appearances which appear change. You are still the same. At the root of this question must be this question ‘How do I live my life? How do I manage my life?’ No person has ever been able to manage their life. ‘You’ cannot. No matter what stories you read about them, or what they are saying on Facebook, no person has ever been able to manage their life. Why? Because no ‘person’ has ever existed. The ‘person’ is only a set of beliefs. So the ‘person’ is just a total of all the ideas which you carry about yourself. It's only a set of ideas and these ideas keep constantly changing.

If we look back at our life, we say that ‘the person I was has changed now. I'm not the same person anymore’. We can see this about ourselves and all the Beings we meet also; that all people change. So what are we actually saying? We are saying that the beliefs that are carried here are changing. Many people, at one point in their life they could have believed that they are rebels. Some could have believed that they never wanted a job. Some could have believed that they will always have a job. But our ideas about ourselves constantly keep changing.

So this ‘person’ idea is an ever-changing idea and therefore very unreliable. What then remains once it is seen that this ‘person’ is just an idea? What remains is you see that there is a sense of Being here, which is ever-present. In the ‘right now’ it is here, this pure sense that ‘I Am’. The ‘person’ is just a modulation of this pure sense ‘I Am’. Then it becomes: ‘I am a man’, ‘I am a husband’, ‘I am a teacher’, ‘This my name’. All of this ‘attaching identity’ is the false attaching to this unassociated sense of ‘I Am’. It is this Pure Sense of Being which is running life; which can be said to be Life itself. It is the Light of Life.

As long as you don't fall prey to your false ideas about yourself, (and any idea about yourself is actually false), then you will see that the Life of this entire Universe is unfolding in a beautiful pattern. We say this often that ‘We believe that God can run this entire Universe but He cannot run my life; or He cannot balance my life’. Actually, God or this Being or Consciousness itself has been running this entire show all alone, and it is completely balanced.

The good news is that you don't have to take effort to balance anything at all, because you will tire yourself out silly in trying to balance life. It is like trying to carry a huge river on your back. Can you do it? No, it's constantly flowing. You don't have any way to create a dam or a reservoir to control this flow of the river. So don't try to balance life. Just be the witness of life and you will watch that life is unfolding in a beautiful way; and it will not seem tiring. It will not seem effortful anymore. What is the best way? The quickest way to do it is to let go of your next thought. Simply let go of your next thought.

THE SELF CANNOT BE LOST

“It seems the person will never be comfortable, especially being nobody, not noticed. The only way is to burn all personhood and stay as I am.”

If somebody is completely comfortable being ‘nobody’ then we can say that there is no ‘person’ here. It's the same thing. Actually, if the Self is True, (and the Self is True), but if the Self is True, then it can never be lost. There’s something very important in this for you. Just be with these words. Don't even strain to understand.

If the Self is True, then it must be ever-present. We are not interested in a Self which comes and goes, isn't it? If Self-realization was only something which shows us something which could come and which could go, based on how much we've meditated today or which practice we have done, then ‘that’ kind of Self I would not be interested in. Self-realization means to find this which is Eternal; which is ever-present, which cannot be lost.

Then what happens? Then we see that all that can be lost was ‘not me’ because the Self cannot be lost. So all that can be lost must have just been an idea I had about this ‘person’. What remains when everything is lost? Find out that which remains when everything is lost. Then you will lose the fear of losing anything at all. Let everything go right now. Lose everything, and see what remains. My Master used to say earlier ‘Take a big net. Put everything in this net and throw it in the ocean. Then what remains?’ That which cannot be lost, that which cannot be thrown, that is the Self, the Eternal One.

WHAT IS TRUE BHAKTI AND JNANI?

Let’s look at this. True bhakti means that my Master or God or whatever we have faith in is doing everything, and everything has been done by that One. True bhakti also means that we see that if that is the One Doer, if my Master or God or Consciousness is the One Doer, then it is also the same who is the Experiencer. And we rely on this God to run our life. That is true bhakti; being completely unconcerned about what will appear because everything is God's problem or the Master’s problem. You hand over your life to your Master. That is bhakti.

This bhakti is enough. What will happen is, as this bhakti deepens and deepens, you will see inevitably; you will come to the conclusion that this ‘person’ who handed over everything to God was never here anyway. The instant that this is seen that this person was never here anyway and surrender was only a realization that ‘I never did anything, there was no person here anyway’, then immediately you become a jnani.

Many of the jnanis have this tendency to say ‘All this devotion stuff is not for me. I'm too cool to put my head on somebody's feet’. This arrogance of jnani is the same as the aversion that a bhakti could have toward knowledge. You see? The jnani will also become a full bhakti and the bhakti will become a full jnani. So if it is natural for you to just surrender, then just surrender, just let go. In this letting go, no knowledge will be kept from you. You will see that you are the source of all the scriptures. And the jnani will see that their head is constantly bowed down to the Supreme Being. It is inevitable.

“CAN YOU GIVE US SOME CLARITY ON INTUITION?”

We often speak about this, that the voice of the Satguru, the voice of the Master is qualitatively different from thoughts. All is phenomenal. All that appears after the birth of Consciousness can be said to be phenomenal. So, at that level, all is Consciousness and all is phenomenal. So know that when we are speaking even about intuition, we are still talking about appearance now. With phenomena there is always duality, there are differences. So now we are talking from a phenomenal level of: What are the differences between thoughts and intuition?

We see that in the Presence of pure Being, there can be some words that arise that seem like they have been dipped in honey. They come with this presence of Love, Peace and Joy. So these words we can call them coming from intuition. It's not necessary that this has to be in the verbal form. For some it can just be an image, you know, a sense that it has so much love and peace associated with it. It can be in any form. It can be a feeling also. This is intuition of the voice of Consciousness, Beingness or the voice of Satguru itself. This voice is pointing you toward your Reality, showing you what you really are.

Now we can contrast this with the voice of the mind. The voice of the mind is always saying ‘How can I become special?’ The mantra of the ego is ‘What’s in it for me?’ Therefore a thought is always accompanied with some need, or some desire, or some aversion. Not only is it ‘What’s in it for me?’ it is also about ‘me first’, which is also specialness, isn't it? ‘Me first’ or ‘me only.’ In the worst case it operates like ‘It should only be me. I should be the only one free here. I should be the special one for my Master. I should stand out as the enlightened one’. All of this is voice of the mind, or we call them thoughts. So qualitatively you can sense the difference between the voice of the Being and the voice of the imagined one.

“THERE’S A VOICE IN ME THAT IS VERY AUTHORITATIVE AND DIRECT. IS THIS THE EGO?”

Any voice, whatever it is saying, you let go of everything. Be completely empty first. Then you will start hearing my voice inside you. You will recognize it to be the Satguru. You see? When I say ‘my voice’ I'm not referring to Ananta ‘a person's’ voice; it is not a personal voice. But you will recognize me in your own heart, and then this doubt will not be there. You see, this doubt, if it is there, it is best to just let go.

There can also be a phase where the mind and this kind of intuition gets mixed, so the mind will start using this emergence of this intuition and try to contaminate that in some way. It's very sneaky, you see? So you just let go and surrender everything. Then you will have an unmistakable recognition one day, and you will know that there is so much love and peace here.

It is not really the words of the voice. It's not about the words that are being spoken. It is just about the Presence which is being felt. This voice will carry the Presence of your own Being; these words will seem to come from you heart. When in doubt, just let go.

IT IS ONLY YOU THAT YOU WANT

We are never the appearance. All appearances arise within us. No matter how strong or how real it might seem, the Awareness is untouched by any of this. Ultimately it doesn't even matter whether we are playing the game of a person or we realize who we are. Ultimately even that does not matter because you can only be That. You are always only That. The imaginary world, no matter how beautiful or horrific it might be, can never become You. You can never truly be a part of it. It can only seem that way.

It's like you're having a daydream and something somewhere is trying to control the content of that daydream. It is just happening all on its own; and you will see this to be true. The person is not even the illusion. If the phenomenal world is all an illusion and it's all a dream, even in this dream this person cannot be found. That's why we can say that it is nothing at all. It is not even a phenomena. The whole divine mystery is how pure Being itself starts imagining itself to be this non-existent entity. It must be all a game, isn't it? Must be all a leela.

But don't believe this. If you just believe it, as words, then it becomes another concept. I'm not asking for any belief. But I am asking for the faith so that you can check for yourself. Have this much faith that you will check for yourself. Some faith is required in this. Because there will be some voice in your head that says ‘this is useless; it serves no purpose; how does it help me; you can never get it; you are just fooling yourself’. This voice is constantly telling you this kind of stuff. That is where faith is very helpful. Faith gives you the ability to check for yourself.

I don't want any of you to hear this as just some fancy words. I don't even want you to hear these words as if they are something special. Just hear these words as if we are having a conversation. Because what is being spoken about here is not mystical. It is not esoteric. It is not religious. It is universal. But it is a rare conversation, because not too many Beings in this world will have this kind of conversation with you.

WHAT GOAL WILL YOU HAVE THEN?

“Can we still have goals to achieve after realizing the Consciousness?”

When you realize that you are the Supreme One, untouched by any of this, then what goal will you still have? If you realize that you are already a billionaire; let's say you have a family inheritance which you didn't know about, but one day somebody came to you and said ‘Look, look, look. Go into that room of yours, and open this box, which you didn't know about. Inside that box you will find that check for a billion dollars’. At first there was disbelief. ‘How can there be? This is just not possible’. But then, if you have faith in the one who is telling you, then that faith will make you look. And once you look, you will find this check worth a billion dollars. Then after finding the billion dollars, it's your complete freedom of whether you want to work at your job or not.

There is nothing that stops anything. This realization will not make a sadhu out of you. It will only remove the potential for any suffering, because once you realize that You are all there is, then what else could you want? All of your actions will come from a place which is not from a need. It will not come from a lack. It will come from a joy now. And with this joy there can be no stress; there can be no trouble. If you were to really see that You are everything; that this entire universe is arising within You, then would any ‘want’ be left?

“Well, then what do we do with the rest of the life?”

It is complete freedom once you see that you are Consciousness Itself. See, it's not a person that realizes Consciousness. You realize that the person was never here, and You are always only this Consciousness. This Consciousness sees that all of life is moving on its own like it always has been.

For most of humanity, what we are doing is trying to find peace and happiness. All our actions are taking us there. When we ask most people ‘Why are you doing certain things?’ they will say ‘So that I can be happy and I can be peaceful’. Here then, you start from this point of peace and happiness, and all actions are free to unfold.

The mind will paint this picture for you that you will lose all interest in everything, that you will become like this sad character sitting isolated from the world; no joy. Don't let the mind paint this picture for you. It is not that. You will enjoy every moment, no matter what the content of the moment is. No one who has realized the Self has come back with the complaint that ‘I have nothing to do’. They might say ‘I have nothing to do, all is happening on its own’ but it won't be a complaint. No one who has realized the Self has lived to regret it.

You are what you want. You are the way to your Peace. You are the way to your Joy. You are the way to your eternal happiness. It is only You that you want.

IF THERE IS STILL A SENSE OF CHOICE

“So the only control we have is to either believe or not believe our thoughts?”

If you feel that there is some sense of control, some choice, then it's good to see that this is a choice. To see that the thought is coming, and whether I give my belief to it or not seems like a choice, then it is good to exercise this choice and say that ‘I will not believe it’. Ultimately you will realize that even this belief and not-belief was Grace itself.

MEMORIES

Memory, imagination, emotion, appearance in the world; none of them are any trouble. None of them can bring any trouble except when we believe our mind's interpretation of it. Because in the mind's interpretation of it, all these appearances become ‘mine’. We put a label through our belief saying ‘this happened to me’. But there is nobody that anything has ever happened to because nobody has ever existed.

If you try to deal with these forces separately, then it will become a more indirect process and could take many, many lifetimes to find out what you really are. Because we start with looking at memory, then all of these things can come. That is why we have given you the simple approach which will short-circuit this entire game. The simple approach is to let go of your next thought, and let the appearances come and go.

No appearance has the power to hurt you. No appearance is loud or strong; it is only made that way by your own belief, by your own identification. As long as we have some fear that something should not come up; either in the seemingly external appearance or from our memories, then the mind knows that this button can be pushed. It will save these things up to catch you in a moment when you're open to listening to the mind. So instead just be completely open for anything to appear, and just keep letting go of your thoughts about them.

However, don't let go of your thoughts about anything with the expectation that ‘Something should go away as a result of my practice’. This is very important. We must not use any practice with the expectation that something will stop or some appearance will go. The letting go only means that we are not buying the interpretation about it.

You can also shine your own light onto it and see: ‘Who is concerned with this memory coming up or not?’ ‘Who is concerned with this emotion?’

FROM THE HEAD TO THE HEART

“Just being quiet as sometimes I see a bit of fear as I just don't know anything really.”

This is what my Master calls ‘The switching over of power’. The switching over of power from the mind to the Being. This is what many on the spiritual path call the journey from the head to the Heart. The head means operating from a personal identity, operating from the mind. The Heart means Being, operating from the pure Beingness itself. Sometimes yes, the mind will try to make you fearful about this; this can happen. But you stay in satsang, you stay with me in your Heart and you will see that all this will soon go. You will laugh at the idea of the mind to have any ability to create fear in you.

THIS IS THE WORLD OF DUALITY

In this realm of this world appearance, it is seen that these forces of opposites always operate. This is the world of duality. Everything comes with its opposite. ‘Me’ comes with ‘another’, good comes with evil, truth comes with lies; everything, everything is duality, at every level. So this is the world of duality, which is full of the opposites. This is the way it appears, and it appears this way so that we can transcend this duality.

If you keep studying the nature of the world and try to sort out the world as a person, no one has been able to do that. Many avatars have come and gone, many great teachers, sages, masters, saints, have come and gone. Who has been able to sort out the world? There are Beings who have come to the place of realization of their Supreme Self and come to this place of happiness and peace. All Beings will come to this ultimate place of recognition.

Therefore, if you want to truly be a role model to the world, show the world how you can be free from your suffering. Because it is not in the material things. If you help another with material things, that is not enough. Nothing wrong in doing that, if you feel from the heart that it is to be done, nothing wrong in doing that. To help in material or practical things is not enough. Show the world how to be free from suffering. We say ‘Be the change’. Gandhi-ji, I believe, had said ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ What is the change that you can be? You can be forever free from suffering. And in your being free from suffering, the world becomes free from suffering.

AGE OF THE BODY

This body has been living for so many years, but have You been living for those years? Every cell in your body has changed many times. No cell in your body is the same cell, which was born as the baby. Which part of your body has been there for that many years? The body is constantly changing, just like the world is constantly changing. Just like our beliefs are constantly changing. So if we ever rely on something which is constantly changing for our identity, this is ripe for suffering, this is ripe for misery, because there is no stability.

On being your Self there is stability. Find the Eternal One. This body has come, this body will go. It will not be even a blink of an eyelid. Which part of you is the body? How does the body connect with you? This is another misconception, that Being lives inside the body, or Awareness lives within the body. This is completely not true. It can only appear that way, it can only feel that way. But Being is prior to the body, Witnessing is prior even to Being. [Nisargadatta] Maharaj had this beautiful phrase: ‘Where were you before you were conceived?’

GIVE ME ALL YOUR PROBLEMS

Letting go is not a reliance on any thought. It is just the intuitive feeling to let go of these thoughts. But if a thought is coming like ‘You must let go of all your thoughts now’ then even this thought can be let go of. Truth does not rely on any thought.

The mind is now grasping at straws, you see. Somewhere it knows that the battle is lost. But it still tries some moves. It's still trying to play some moves to see if there is something you will bite at. But you already see that it is nothing at all.

'Drop it all’ is only valid while you're carrying something. Isn't it? If this heavy baggage has already been put down, then there is no point of the instruction ‘Drop it all’.

If the mind is now pretending to be an ally, it's almost like it is saying that ‘I surrender. Now use me as an ally’. But the mind is still not your friend. It's only pretending.

Appearances will come, appearances will go. States will come, states will go. Freedom is not about getting to a state. Enlightenment is not a state. It is what you always have been. It is only the person which asks for a particular state. Only a person says ‘I want this to stay like this’ or ‘I want something else to appear’. Awareness has no trouble with what is. You have no trouble with what is. You are already what you are trying to get to. You are already what you are trying to get to.

What you are does not need to rely on any thought. Are you using a thought to rotate this planet around the sun? Did you use a thought to create this Universe? Is a thought required for electricity to flow? Is a thought required for your heart to beat? Thoughts are only an interpretation of what is happening. Don't let them fool you into believing that they are responsible for anything at all. All movement is a movement of Consciousness.

JUST BE NEUTRAL

“Should I force myself to not follow what the thought is saying? At times the thought seems very simple and true like ‘I am feeling thirsty, let me have some water’.”

You do not have to force yourself to do anything at all. See ‘letting go’ is not a forcible way of doing the opposite of what a thought is saying. This is very good you ask this question because many can have this misconception that if a thought is saying ‘Go left; my house is towards the left' then a thought will come that is saying ‘Your house is towards the left so I must go right’. No! This is not what we have said. What we have said is: have this beautiful neutrality to all that is appearing, including thoughts. You will see that life unfolds in its own beautiful way just as it has to. Actions are happening on their own just like thoughts are appearing on their own.

And many times we believe a thought and just the opposite seems to happen. We believe a thought that ‘I will go to my manager today and tell him that I quit’. So we go to our manager and the words that we find coming out of our mouth is ‘How can I help you today?’

I realize that it's not a trivial thing that we say. Because many theories like the theory of Karma and other things seem to convey that it is our thought which leads to action. But all this could be true at a personal realm; as long as we believe that we are this imagined entity called ‘the person’ then we can believe that ‘My believing a thought has led to this action’. But we then see that it is Consciousness itself which is the only One cause; it is the only cause of all thought and all action; it is the only Creator of all thoughts and all actions and it is the only experiencer of all that is to be experienced.

Consciousness does not need to rely on the thought that ‘I am thirsty’ to quench your thirst. But this does not mean that we try and force ourselves to do the opposite of what the thought is saying. Just be neutral and you might find that your feet are walking towards the water and your thirst is being quenched. We're not to resist anything at all. Completely open. To say that ‘I do’ or ‘I will not do’ is both doer-ship. Just be completely neutral and let life unfold as it is doing anyway.

FIRST YOU BE HAPPY

Show me how you can be unhappy without believing a thought. If we believe any thought actually, it can lead us down this road of a lot of untruths. Take a phrase like ‘Huge effort to control’. As if I can make a ‘huge effort’ at all. Can I make any effort at all? Where is the effort coming from? No effort is possible. To say ‘control'; no control is possible. You ‘feel that things will collapse’. This Universe has been going like this, through the light of Consciousness, timelessly. There is nothing that you can do to make it collapse. When people are happy or unhappy it is only because of the thoughts that they are believing. There is nothing you can do about what they are feeling. Just let go of all of this. All of this can be let go of. We must stop trying to control the experience. We must stop trying to control the appearance.

Identify: What is it that I feel should not appear? What is it that I feel should not appear in my appearance? What am I still resisting? What do I fear the most? These questions will lead you to your strongest attachments.

Just let go of all your thoughts. Just let go of your next thought. I know I sound like a parrot repeating the same thing over and over but it is actually that simple. It's actually simple, simple, simple. It's the simplest thing which faces the most resistance. Let anything come. Anything can come. Does anything touch what you are?

All the lack of control and the collapsing and everything can happen. The washing can happen. But you have always been only the Witnessing of all of this. You are not getting washed. It is only your conditioning which is getting washed away. It is only our concepts which are getting washed away.

“I am realizing that I don't believe thoughts about myself but I believe thoughts about others.”

Don't believe thoughts about others and don't especially believe thoughts that others are having about you. It's all the same guy. The same guy which is trying to keep this separation alive.

WE MADE A DEAL

We have made a deal. Isn't it? What is our deal? Who remembers our deal?

“To stay in satsang.”

“To give everything to you.”

“To hand everything over to you.”

“Not to believe the next thought.”

Yes. It's the same thing, isn't it? Stay in satsang means to hand over everything to me. Once you have handed over everything that can be handed over, what remains but this Oneness? It is only this Oneness which remains. Only this Oneness stays.

I'm here only to make this deal. I only want all of your concepts, all of your beliefs and interpretations about your life. All your concerns, all your worries, all your problems are mine. I can say that this is a rare deal. In most other relationships we are trying to give our problems to others but others are not willing to take them. We feel that ‘If I am in a relationship with someone, someone should take care of my problem. All my problems should be taken care of by them. They should even change themselves to fix my problems’. It is only here that all your problems can be handed over with no expectations in return.

“Such stillness, such peace. This is reality.”

You are the Light of the Universe. This is the only story I am willing to believe about you. I cannot see you as anything else but my own Heart you are.

Where would you leave to? Where could you leave? Wherever you go is only Me. Whatever is appearing is only My light. You cannot leave your own Heart. So to leave the physical presence is not what we're speaking of. To leave even this kind of satsang or ‘satsang with Ananta’ is not what we're talking about. Why you cannot leave is because we are One Heart. It is the same One Consciousness, One Being that we are. Enough of this story of separation.

“I love the way you have so much faith in me when I can't see it yet.”

In my seeing it, you are seeing it. It's just that the mind is singing another tune and trying to distract you. Without listening to this mind, tell me what is unseen. What can you see about yourself which is not this Being, which is not pure Awareness, without listening to the mind?

To say I Love You is an understatement. What is this if it is not Love? [Gazing into the screen smiling and radiating Love]

So we have a new answer for what is the purpose of the creation of this Universe? [Soft laughter] The purpose is to have this satsang. This is very beautiful.

THE MASTER KEY

The person always wants something, isn't it? The ego always wants something. Most thoughts are pointing to a need. This is the life of a person; constantly wanting something and not wanting to lose something. It could be money, it could be relationships, it could be any possession. The person is always wanting something.

How we know when something is coming from the person, from the ego, is to see whether there is a sense of grasping about it; whether there is a sense of need in what is being expressed. The instant we sense this need, we know that it is coming from the ego. It is saying that ‘If I were just to get a little more of something, then I would be happy. If I would get the perfect partner, then I would be happy. If I were to get a million dollars in the bank, then I would be happy. If I would get this fancy car, then I would be happy’. You see?

But it is never happy no matter what it gets. It is always saying ‘Almost there. Just about; just a little more’. And it is also saying ‘I hope I don't lose this’. So in getting something, also there is a fear that arises that ‘I hope now I don't lose it’. All of this, the person wants.

In the same way, when the person feels that ‘None of this is working’ it says ‘Okay, I will be your ally and we will go to Freedom together. Let’s get Freedom. I heard that that works’. The quest for Freedom or the desire for Freedom also starts off as a personal desire. But this one desire we can call ‘the auspicious desire’. We can say that even the search for Freedom starts off as a personal need for happiness or peace; then this personal desire then burns all personal desires quickly. If it is true, then quickly it will see that none of the other desires are helping, so it burns all of them. Then only this seeker identity remains.

So for many of us, for many years we've been living our lives leading the life of being this seeker identity. But it is only in this desire for Freedom that this desire itself will get burned also ultimately. Because if there is integrity in the search, if there is honesty in the search, it will be seen that ‘I am not a person’. Then when a personal identity is vanishing, then a personal desire also, obviously, cannot remain.

In this vanishing stage, it seems like the ‘person’ is still trying to get some credit; and say ‘I've got Freedom now’. ‘See, we got there!’ It wants you to celebrate along with the mind. The mind wants you to celebrate, or the mind is running to make proclamations, and the mind is running to make disappointments and create all the needless drama around Freedom also. You see? Whenever you sense some drama, you can sense this is coming from the mind.

So the mind is very quick to proclaim ‘I am Free’. And the mind is also very quick to get disappointed that ‘Because this arose, some anger arose or some guilt arose or something arose, hence I must not be Free’. It's very quick to make judgments. What are these judgments about? It is all about the ‘imaginary one’.

So when the mind is saying that ‘There is an urge to understand it quickly’ then whose urge is it? You see? It is nobody's. This person whose urge it is, is non-existent. As Beingness, as Consciousness, you are already Free; you were never bound. And the Witnessing, the Awareness, is far from these concepts of bondage and freedom. So when the mind is saying ‘You must get it quickly’ or ‘I must get it quickly’ just remember that it is a ‘wrong number’. Just ask ‘Who is speaking to whom?’ Why would we need a voice to communicate with ourself?

So the pointing is simple, even in this case: Just let it go. Don't attribute any sense of specialness to this.

It has been pretending to be your ally, saying ‘We can do this together’. It is not true. The truth does not need the crutches of any thought. All the concepts which are shared in satsang are just to uproot this ego conditioning.

See, it's like you had a house and you gave it to a bad tenant. This happens in India quite often, so at least some of you will understand this. You had a house, and you gave it to a bad tenant who is not paying you any rent. He is only causing more and more trouble, and more and more misery. But this tenant had convinced you that it is your best friend; closer than your best friend. Then a guide comes along and he says ‘Why do you let this tenant stay in your house?’ Then the tenant itself will come and give you advice on whether you should listen to the guide or not.

Just throw this bad tenant out. ‘Fire the interpreter’. Put down the ‘wrong number’. All these pointings mean the same thing: Let go of your next thought. All the teaching is the same actually.

“The person doesn't exist. So all this desire must rise from Consciousness.”

Yes. All arises from Consciousness itself, because Consciousness is all there is. To see that this is the truth from the perspective of Consciousness can cause no trouble whatsoever. Then it is seen that some energetic force of a desire could come but there is no ‘me’ to which it comes. There is no individual to which it appears. To be able to say ‘This is my desire’ but this individual ‘me’ you cannot show me, isn't it? So a desire appears, which is nothing but an energy packet, then you say ‘Whose desire is this?’

Something has been nourished into becoming a desire. You see how it gets nourished? All starts off as a thought. A thought should come that ‘I should move to a bigger house’ or ‘I should have a better partner in life; I should have someone who understands me’ or ‘I should get a different teacher’. Even if attention goes to them, but we don't give our belief, they just go. But the minute we give it our personal identification and we say ‘It is my thought, it applies to me’ then we have invented this ‘me’ and assigned another attribute to this ‘me’. This ‘me’ is nothing but a bundle of these attributes. That's what we say; that the person is nothing but the sum total of all our beliefs. So we add one more belief to this and say ‘I must have a bigger house’. With this belief it becomes a desire.

It is the same thing; a desire and an aversion is both a believed thought. It could be that ‘I don't want a bigger house’. That becomes an aversion. It is nothing but the same as a desire. You see?

Even if all our thoughts were to be believed, and all our desires and aversions are there, just investigate now: ‘Whose desire is this? Is there a person here?’ Is it the body's desire to have a bigger house? The body is not saying anything at all. Then whose desire is it to have a bigger house? Is it Consciousness desiring to have a bigger house? It is only this play of Consciousness being a person.

So if you're tired of this play, we can let go of the person idea. But if you're not tired of the play, we can play for many, many lifetimes more. We can meet 20 years later also; and then maybe we would have a hologram satsang instead of this wonderful technology that we have. [Laughs] Time means nothing to You actually. So you're free to play as long as you like. But if you're tired of this game, Freedom is available right here, right now.

To be Free means ‘I have always ever been this’ and ‘There is nothing special in this; we are all this One Being, and we are all this One Seeing’.

But if it is coming from the sense of ‘There is an individual entity now which is free and the rest of you are still suffering’ then that is again coming from the ‘person’.

CAN YOU SHOW ME THE PERSON?

“I am so fed up with the play, but I cannot let go of the person, so I am stuck. I try and try and try to let go of the next thought and it doesn't work.”

So, first you come here now.

Be completely here now.

Just be here.

All that is arising, let it arise.

Don't try to do anything at all.

Just give up.

You say you're fed up?

Just give up.

Completely give up.

Don't try to understand anything;

No knowledge is being spoken here.

Just you give up.

Can you show me now the person?

This one that you cannot let go of,

Can you show me right now where it is?

Don't refer to the past, don't project into the future;

Can you show me the person?

Where is it?

Is there someone sitting inside your head?

So it is the person itself that is saying ‘I am so fed up with the play, but I cannot let go of the person’. Whose voice is this one?

“No, it isn't here to be shown.”

It is never here. It is only imagined. Imagination means ‘It is never here’. Therefore we should stop saying that the person is a problem, because it is not. Something that is never here is not really a problem. All that is claiming that it is a problem is still this ego voice or the person voice. Person is only this imagined entity. Imagination itself means that you cannot make it real. It has never been a person.

“The idea, illusion, is the problem.”

No. Who is the one that is saying the illusion is a problem? Who is it a problem for? Is Consciousness saying illusion is a problem? How is Being touched by all these appearances?

“I know I am hunted by a ghost. It still feels like the hunt.”

You drop all the hunting now. Drop it all. Just be still. Let all that has to arise arise. Let it all be my problem now. Nothing is happening to You. Nothing at all has ever happened to You.

I feel that ultimately this question must be: Will you be happy without the hunt? Or has the seeking itself become such a strong part of you that there is deep attachment to it?

Sometimes the seeking itself becomes our primary identity. Everything else we can let go of, but this seeker we will not drop. There is no trouble; there is never a person. Don't believe any thought about it. Don't even believe that ‘I try and try and try to let go of my thought’. No. Just let go of your next thought. There is nothing to be done. No trying is required. Nothing is required to be done. To let go of thought is not effort. To pick up thought is effort

“This thought is sticky: The imagined has no control over Consciousness playing as the imagined; it can only suffer the illusion. When feeling myself as this illusion, it feels hopeless.”

No. You can never be this ‘imagined’ one. You see, the imagined does not exist; it cannot even suffer. It is Consciousness itself playing the game of suffering. You see? The Light which projects the movie cannot suffer; but the Light can project suffering. The Light is not suffering; this Being is not suffering. It is the Light in which the movie of this whole Universe is played. The Light does not suffer.

You have to understand this about Consciousness, that you are this Light which is projecting all this suffering. In that way, we say that Consciousness is making all this suffering. But the Light itself, is it suffering from what the movie is conveying?

So the simple question for you now is: Can you stop being now? Forget about everything. Can you stop being now? Turn off the Being. Can you do it? Who has been able to do it? Who has not been able to do it?

“No.”

This Being you cannot turn off, is it suffering from anything at all? What is this Being suffering from? Can you tell me? Can this Being suffer from anything at all?

I don't say ‘Go and find your Being’ because I know your mind will make it a task and it will be very frustrating. I say ‘Turn off your Being. Stop being now’. This which you cannot stop, it is Consciousness, it is Being, it is Atma. This is the Self that you’ve been looking for. And the Absolute is Witnessing even this.

THE SIMPLE THREE OF THE MASTER KEY

The first question that most seekers will ask is: ‘How do I get rid of my suffering?’

Even all the Sages started with this question; the Buddha started with this question. ‘How does one get free from suffering?’ It sounds like a monumental problem, doesn't it? But it is not.

The simple pointing to end your suffering is: Let go of your next thought; and don't believe any thoughts about this.

I am telling you that with this simple pointing all your suffering is over: Just let go of your next thought. So, this is the first question.

What is the second question? Typically it is: ‘Okay, suffering is gone now, but now I want to experience God. I want to see God. Can you show me God?’

And in response to this question also, there is a simple pointing: Can you stop being now?

This Being which cannot be stopped is Consciousness, is God, is Atma.

For most seekers, this is enough.

But some of you might say: ‘But I want to know the Absolute Self, the Ultimate’. You sense that there is something prior to even this Consciousness, and you want to see that Absolute.

For that also, we have the simplest pointing, which is: Are you Aware now?

In answering this question, no phenomena is seen. You don't need to look at an object to confirm this:

It is Awareness itself which is aware of Awareness.

And with this, it is Game Over! In this, it is Game Over.

The entire Universe is a projection of this Being, which is ever-present, which you cannot start or stop. Ultimately You are the Awareness even of this Being, the One that sees even this, the Presence of Being. The One that sees even the Presence of Being is what You are.

This pure Awareness You Are. From this place, can you show me a problem? Can you show me a delusion? Can you show me any suffering as the One who the witnessing even of Being?

This is Freedom. It's a simple as that: That ‘I am not the content of any appearance. Nothing which appears is me or mine’. Nothing that appears is you or yours. All is appearing from within You.

You are the pure Space in which all is allowed to come and go. Nothing can make a person out of You.

This pointing: ‘Let go of your next thought’ is the Master Key actually. As long as you feel you need a key then ‘Let go of your next thought’ is the Master Key. Nothing, nothing else is needed.

“I-Am-Aware-Now sees Awareness as Awareness, sees Beingness, sees Consciousness; sees the dynamic play as Consciousness; and I am unanswerable as a dropped thought.”

So beautiful! Very beautiful, my dear. They say ‘I-Am-Aware-Now sees Awareness as Awareness, sees Beingness, sees Consciousness; sees the dynamic play as Consciousness, and I am unanswerable as a dropped thought’. How beautiful! It is that simple. So beautiful. I like this very much.

You're all So amazing. Super amazing. I am blessed to be in your Presence.

THIS SILENCE CANNOT BE DISTURBED

“Please say something again about doership.”

When we say ‘doership’ what are we referring to? When we say doership, we are always referring to the idea of personal doership. Isn't it? When we say doership, we are not talking about Consciousness doing, God's doing. The simplest way to understand doership is to realize that when we say doership we speak about personal doership. In our explorations, in our contemplations, in our inquiry we have seen that no person exists here. When looked for, we cannot find the existence of this separate individual person. That is why we like to use the word ‘person’ rather than the word ‘ego’. Because if I were to say ego, everyone says ‘No, I don't have an ego’. When we say ‘You still consider yourself to be a person?’ then most will say ‘yes’. This sense of being a separate person, being a person which is not part of this One Consciousness, this sense is called the ego; and this sense is pure imagination. Because for this separate one, we can look all we like, but nobody can find. So if this separate one cannot be found, if this person cannot be found, whose doership are we speaking about?

Whose doership are we speaking about? This is the simplest way for us to understand. Are we referring to ourselves as Consciousness? Are we referring to ourselves, God, and then saying that we are doing something? That is completely acceptable. Just in the same way that the light of the projector is projecting a movie, and hence the light is the doer of the movie, in the same way Consciousness can say that ‘I am the One doer of all that happens’. But the light is untouched. It's untouched by any doing. It is untouched by any event. You see?

To say that doership seems relevant to me, it must be somewhere still believing that it is a separate person; otherwise who is this ‘me’ for whom doership still seems relevant? This is the root of the question. If you cut the question off the root, then all these endless debates about free will, God's will; all this will go away, because whose free will are we speaking about? Let’s get to the root. We're speaking about the free will of an individual entity. But this individual entity, most of you will say, does not exist. So doership is just another concept. We ascribe something which is moving in the appearance as ‘my action’ just like we used to ascribe these thoughts which were emerging from nowhere and going to nowhere as ‘my thoughts’. All actions are also just another appearance.

Then the question usually is ‘Does this mean that I can do anything at all? Does this mean that I can just lay in bed all day? Or does this mean that I can go around attacking people?’ No. It means that you as a separate entity does not exist. You have never done anything at all; neither will you be able to. Because you do not exist. This one that claims separation just does not exist.

When this feeling comes that ‘I did something’ then find out ‘Who is this ‘I’?’ Introduce this ‘I’ to your own Self. Who is this one? [Silence].

So if we cannot even find this ‘I’ then how can we say that this ‘I’ did something? If this ‘I’ itself is not to be found, what actions can it take? [Silence].

“Thank you. That's what I needed to hear. Laughing here.”

Yes. [Smiles]. It's such a joke, isn't it? That we have been enamored with this idea of personhood is a complete joke. I would be laughing if it wasn’t the cause of so much seeming-suffering in so many lives. But it is a joke.

CONSCIOUSNESS KNOWS WHAT IS TO BE DONE

“How does this letting go apply to rules in society? Are those just thoughts that should be dropped?”

Yes. We must look at this again, because this is an important point that you bring up. Because the mind is subtly saying that ‘If you let go of thought then God is running your life, and God is completely incapable of following the rules of society’. [Laughs]. This one is again the trickster voice. This entire Universe is the creation of Consciousness. And Consciousness knows exactly what is to be done in any situation without any reliance on thoughts. You will see that your mouth is moving on its own and the appropriate words are coming out; your hands and feet are moving as appropriately as required. It has always been this way, actually.

You have never been the doer. Whether you have believed a thought or not, you have never been the doer. Consciousness is always the doer. Therefore it is very important to understand that surrender is not an action. It is not a doing which you will do. Surrendering is a realization that all has always moved on its own. This ‘person’ who claimed to be the doer never existed.

Ultimately you will see that even the letting go of thoughts is pure Grace. But as long as there's a sense that ‘I can do something’ then we can just let go of the next thought. Then when the whole personal idea is completely dissolved, then we will see that even this letting go is part of the play of Consciousness itself.

WHAT IS IDENTITY?

One of the contemplations that we were doing was: ‘What is identity?’ Identity is when we start attaching attributes to pure Consciousness. To this pure sense ‘I Am’ we start attaching attributes that becomes identity. So when this pure Being is there, this pure Being is the root entity, the Immaculate Conception, Consciousness itself, the Light of the Universe.

But the minute we use the power of our belief to attach attributes to this pure Consciousness, like ‘I am a person. I am a man. I am a good person. I am a student. I am a teacher’ then all these attributes which are attached to the pure sense ‘I Am’ (which is untouched by any of these attributes actually), this is the process of giving birth to identity. And this identity is the cause of all suffering. Based on what concepts and beliefs we have picked up, this identity then becomes the cause of all suffering. We are hurt only when our own thoughts attack an identity which we have believed about ourself.

All Beings want to come home. All Beings actually never have left home. So freedom actually is not an option for you; it is your own true nature.

When suffering comes, we look at that also as an opportunity; an opportunity to expose which identity is still being held onto. All identities, all attaching of false attributes to the pure sense ‘I Am’ will eventually lead to this suffering so that you can wake up from your delusion. Therefore don't try to resist the suffering. Look at what it is trying to tell you.

You have seen that you are only the Awareness of all of this. In all these appearances, good or bad, you are just the pure Witnessing of all that is appearing. So this Witnessing is ever-untouched by any of this. All of it is just coming and going. It's all the same, just another appearance. This will bring you back to the present moment, to the eternal Now. With this, there is no trouble with complete openness. Resistance means ego. In openness, there can be no ego.

You are not bound by any state. Love and Joy are here to serve you; they are here to serve your pure Presence. They are ever in service to you. We are not to serve them. We are not to chase them. When there is no desire even for Love and Joy then it is seen that they are always in service to us. Now we are unconcerned with any state which could be arising. If Joy is here, that's okay. If grief is here, that's also okay. All these states will come and go, but You will not come and go. So this noticing, this Witnessing, this Awareness…, this is what You are.

WHAT IS ‘MIND’?

“What does the term ‘mind’ mean?”

The term ‘mind’ very simply means only a bundle of these energies called thoughts and similar energy constructs like memory, imagination; and ultimately you can also bundle the energy constructs of emotions. When there is a thought or an imagination or a memory then we say that ‘the mind is here’. When these energies are not there, and it is still, then it is called the ‘no-mind state’.

You are the one that can say that there is mind or there is no-mind. So therefore there is something prior to the mind which can report on mind or no-mind. This witness is who? This perceiver: Can this perceiver be perceived? That is a beautiful inquiry.

So, all that is appearing, the external appearance, mind, emotions, all of these things; there is a perceiving of all of this. But can a perceiver be perceived? [Silence].

“Just being in your Presence is enough.”

This Presence that you speak of is the Presence of the Satguru in your own Heart, isn't it? When you feel my Presence, you're actually feeling the Presence of the true Master in your own Heart. [Silence].

So much Peace, so much Love, so much Joy is here. And it's all for you. [Silence].

It is only our belief in these energies called thoughts; it is only this. It is only our belief in our energy patterns which we call thoughts which is the cause of all misery, all suffering. When we let go of our thoughts, then we see that freedom is our true nature. Nothing has ever been a problem. It's that simple, you see? You cannot suffer without believing a thought. [Silence].

The inquiry ‘Who am I?’ is like the bridge which takes you from the false to the Truth. Once you have reached the place which you never left, then there is no need for the bridge also.

That's why Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi said that all that is spoken in satsang also is like the thorn we use to remove the other thorns which are embedded in our finger. Then, once all these thorns have been removed, then even the concepts in satsang can be thrown away. But don't throw away the thorn of inquiry prematurely. [Silence].

The false diminishes when it is let go of. But the Truth does not change at all. It is ever-present and continuous. So, what is auspicious does not need to be held onto; and yet it does not go anywhere. The Truth needs no crutches of your attention and belief also.

How do we say ‘Yes’ to it? We are completely open to all that is appearing, and all that is going away. We're not resisting, and we're not holding something tight. Our hands are completely open now. We're not grasping on to anything at all. When our hands are completely open like this, then it is God that is holding our hand. It is the Satguru that is holding our hand. Then we are One. [Silence].

Nothing needs to be done. In the Now, You are Free. We don't need to make a journey out of this. We don't need to walk on any paths. You are already home. That's why we said ‘We have never left the destination’. You see? We have never left the destination.

THERE IS NO PERSON

I felt today what we could do is just check for ourselves:

What is it that I am believing myself to be?

What is it that I am referring to myself as?

With simple honesty and integrity, we can just do this simple checking. Without making a practice out of it, or any hard work out of it, just a simple checking in terms of: ‘What is it that I am still referring to myself as?’

To refer to ourselves as a person is not a problem; in the sense where conversationally we do it. When we actually refer to ourselves as a person, then that is the root of all problems.

So some of you said ‘I still believe I'm a person’. Some of you said ‘I believe I am Consciousness, Beingness’. Some of you said ‘I am the pure Seeing itself’. So just check, and show me what evidence you have for any of these; in your own seeing, without reliance on any thoughts. We are not relying on any words now. I'm not trying to convince you of something through words. I want you to check for yourself. Evidence is not a thought. So I don't want a thought as an answer. I want what you’ve actually seen, actually experienced as evidence that this is true. Understand?

For whatever your answer was, be it a person, be it Consciousness or be it the Absolute Awareness; whatever your answer was:

‘What is the evidence that you have that you are that?’

Many of the questions I get still seem to be coming from this person identity. So we will get to the bottom of this today.

So first, we said: ‘In actuality, what are we still referring to ourself as?

Then: ‘Whatever the answer was, can we see some evidence of that?’

Explore this, contemplate this. As always, I am less interested in the content of the answer. I am more interested in the actual looking for your own self.

INTERACTIVE RESPONSES FROM THE SANGHA

“It seems to me that this person acts, or doesn't act; and that there are consequences of this action or inaction.”

How does this one, which you can find no evidence of its existence, do any action? What are the tools the imaginary one has at its disposal to take any action whatsoever?

“As I sit here now, I am aware that all arises within Me.”

So, this ‘me’, this ‘me who is having this experience, is that a person? The evidence of this person is what we are looking for.

“In almost any situation, it comes as a reaction.”

We can say ‘it comes as a reaction’ but to say that would be giving it too much reality. You see? It's just that the appearances move about, and it seems like a person is operating. In no instance is there a real person. All is only a play of Consciousness itself.

“The seeker is a thought.”

“I can't find concrete evidence; only thoughts and sensations that claim ‘I’.”

“It feels like I'm watching everything arise, but am still in the middle of what’s arising. It's like watching it from within it. Interactions go on, but it is not personal.”

“When I was criticized about my spiritual path, I am affected.”

We're looking for this ‘I’. You say, this ‘I’ is affected. We're not looking for the symptoms which are feelings, which are thoughts. What can you tell me about this ‘I’ that is affected?

“After the reaction comes a thought ‘I should not react’.”

But this is again symptoms, isn't it? So, thoughts, another appearance; external, another appearance; emotion, another appearance. But are all these appearances appearing to a person? Where is this person sitting? What does this person look like?

“I cannot find anything; just believing thoughts.”

“There is only pure Seeing.”

Is a person saying this? Just checking. Is a person saying this? Because if it is still a person that is saying this, then there is still a potential for suffering. But if it is seen that there is no person at all saying any of this, then there is no reason for any misery now.

“There isn't a person; there is only Seeing. The seeing of the belief of being a person, but no person as such.”

“Person doesn't exist. Just witnessing the reactions.”

So everybody with us so far? Anybody who can give me one attribute of this person? What does it look like? Where does it sit? Is there a person inside the body? Can anything at all be said about the person itself?

“The person has substance, and my Self is empty.”

So, where is the person who has substance? Can you show me this one, substance? “There is no person, but sensations and viewpoint of this person is so real.”

Let’s find out, no? So far, it's been a presumption that ‘If a thought is coming which refers to me as a person, that ‘You must do this. You must not do this. That person should not do this to you’ then all these are presumptions of these thoughts. First thought will come that tries to convince us that we are a person. No thought is referring to us as Witnessing; no thought is referring to you as Awareness. All thoughts are saying that ‘You are a person’. You see, even when a thought is saying that ‘I am Awareness’ it is referring to the person saying that ‘I am Awareness’. The person is proclaiming now that they are Awareness. You see?

So although sensations might arise, although thoughts might arise that refer to us as a person, why do we believe them without any evidence of there existing a separate person? If we have no evidence of the existence of such a separate person then why do we believe this thought which refers to me as a person?

This thought doesn't only have to arise here. You see, there are many of us in satsang now who have let go of their own thoughts, but still are very interested in what others are thinking about us. But remember that it is the ‘same guy’. It is the same ego which is appearing in the form of this needy, this desperate, this grasping energy; in the form of thoughts.

“It's like thick energy.”

Yes. But there is a witnessing of this thick energy. Are you in the thick energy, or are you the Witnessing of it?

“Tears. Such a relief.”

You see, when the person idea is let go of, when the person dream is let go of, when the person imagination is let go of then there is this relief; because we have been carrying the weight of an imaginary person on our backs.

“I only exist as an imaginary person when my attention follows the thoughts. A sticky old habit.”

So, in this also, there is something to check. ‘I only exist’ you say ‘as an imaginary person’. If you were to exist, then it is not imagination, you see? To say that it is imaginary means that you can never be that. So we can say at best that ‘I only dream, or I only imagine myself to be this person when I am following thought’. You never exist as a person. You can never become a person.

“There was a seeker identity but here in your Presence, it dropped. Expectations gone. What a relief. Gratitude.”

So beautiful. Very good. This is the entire point of satsang actually. This is the meaning of realization, this is the meaning of freedom.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BODY?

“I am able to let go of thoughts now, but bodily sensations are still very strong. The other day, I had a toothache. It was very convincing.”

Yes, I understand. But even when pain is there, it is not a problem. I know some of you will find this shocking when I say this. Pain arises; and it can be there in anybody. In any body, there will be some pain. But then we start believing the interpretation of it, it is again believing a thought about it, that ‘This pain I am not able to let go of’. You see? Especially when we become spiritual, we say that pain should not happen in the body also. It's like we jokingly say that ‘Just because you're spiritual doesn't mean that your car can't break down’. So, this body is an instrument like the car; and it can have problems. You see? In fact, it will have problems. But pain is a problem only if we believe our interpretations about it; if we resist it by accepting our thoughts about it.

If there's a toothache, I'm not saying that don't take some medicine or don't go to a dentist, but don't say that ‘This pain is mine’. If you say ‘This pain is mine’ then show me this ‘me’ whose pain it is. At best what we can say is that the pain exists, and the pain is being witnessed; and there are strong feelings of discomfort or agony which are also appearing along with it. But is there still a ‘me’ to which they are appearing? This ‘me’ that we are believing ourself to be, where is this one?

“Who is maintaining the body? Here it is experienced that everything is unfolding by itself; until the idea of the person arrives and claims doership.”

‘Who is maintaining the body?’ [Laughs] Can you give me the list of options now? So, you say ‘Who is maintaining the body?’ then the first step is ‘What are the options?’ We already said the person does not exist. We cannot find any evidence. Then who else could it be? It's a simple as that, you see? What are the options? Who could it be?

It is this Being, it is this Consciousness which is the Light projecting this entire world. The same Light is projecting this body also. You see, we still give too much importance to this body. We feel that it is separate from the ‘appearance’ [the world around us]. As if to say ‘Everything else I see appears, but this body? No, this body must be special’. This body is just as much of an appearance. You are not sitting somewhere inside this body. You see? This is also just an appearance; like the body in a dream seemed just as real as this one. Where is it now? Wasn’t it just another projection? How can it be that the whole world is a projection, but this body must be special, must not be an appearance? So all of this is an appearance that is being projected in the Light of Consciousness itself, and this Light knows what it is doing.

“This person-body could be like a dream-person body.”

But even this, you don't have to believe. I'm not asking you to believe that the phenomenal world is an illusion. I'm saying that even if this phenomenal world is real, and that a dream world is just projection, then even in this phenomenal existence, can you show me a person? I do not want to get into the ‘illusion vs. reality’ debate, because it is never-ending. But even if this entire phenomenal existence is real, no person exists. So the person is a ‘second-level illusion’. It is a ‘second-level delusion’ actually. [Laughs]

“The example of dream just struck a chord with me. Last night I had a dream. I was in it, and I was trying to escape a situation. It seemed so real. I identified with the person in the dream so much at the time. Now it is just a memory.”

Exactly! And where was this dream? You see? It seemed like the whole Universe was there. In a dream it doesn't seem like we're running out of space. So if there is this ability to project this Universe in a dream, and a person-body in a dream, then what is the difference between dream state and waking state? There is none. Both exist in the Light of our own Consciousness. In fact, there is no way to say whether that was a dream or this is a dream.

“The person doesn't exist and this sense of ‘me’ has dissolved more and more in your Presence, but it still seems to be hanging on to the false sometimes.”

Yes. The thoughts will continue and they will keep saying only what is false. It will keep referring to you from an egoistic perspective. So don't expect that the thoughts will stop or the thought-flow will stop. It might seem to reduce; but whether it is a lot or whether there is no thought-flow makes no difference to You in reality. As your identities are dropped with the withdrawal of belief in any of these thoughts you will find that they will not even seem loud now. So if a thought is saying ‘You're a horrible person’ we have grief; if a thought is saying ‘You're a great person’ we feel pride. You see? Now what used to seem like this big wrestler who could throw us around, where we were swaying to the tunes of this wrestler, then becomes like a tiny mosquito who is twittering for your attention that can be easily flicked away.

“I struggled so many years to build and believe in this person; now I cannot get rid of it.”

[Laughs] Where is it? Where is it? You say ‘I built up this person and now I cannot get rid of it’ so can you show me where it is? You have never built it up, you cannot build it up; you can only pretend. You see? So when you say ‘I cannot get rid of it’ it means that these thoughts will still come which refer to you as a person, but actually these thoughts do not matter. This person, which you say you cannot get rid of, doesn't exist.

“Oh, this person was only my imagination.”

Exactly. You see? Only ever in imagination. It does not even exist at a phenomenal level. This table exists at a phenomenal level, this computer exists at a phenomenal level, this phone exists at a phenomenal level, but you cannot show me the person phenomenally. You can say the body exists at a phenomenal level, but our problems in relationships, our problems with money, our problems with our bosses…, these are not problems of the body. The body is seen to be just an instrument. But where is this person who claims ownership of even this body?

“I don't know anymore. Life unfolds. It is sensed that Awareness is the absolute Source but it is doing nothing.”

Yes, so Awareness is doing nothing, so that is one option. What is the other option? Person does not exist; Awareness is just Witnessing; then what is left?

TENDENCIES OPERATE THROUGH THOUGHT

“What about when I know I am doing things which bring me into trouble, and cannot stop them. Can you say something about this?”

Due to some tendencies, some of these activities still continue. The answer is still the simple answer: No tendency can survive if you are letting go of the thought. Tendencies operate only through thoughts.

There are two ways in which we can do this. One way is to look at it one tendency at a time. So, you can start by looking at lust, then you can look at greed, then you can look at anger, some other tendency, rage, fear, frustration, all these. And then for each, we can have a different practice: to get rid of lust, do this; to get rid of greed, do this; to get rid of anger, do this. All this can be defined. But you find so many people get so involved in all of these practices and it becomes circular in some sense, you see? So what happens is it starts off by wanting to get rid of lust, then you get rid of anger, you get rid of rage; then you see lust is back. See, then it becomes a game like this.

So, what we [in satsang] are doing is we are chopping off all tendencies from the root itself. Because tendencies operate through thought. Tendencies are another set of beliefs. They are a set of identities we have about ourselves. So, as we let go of our thoughts, life is unfolding on its own without you even keeping track. All will be allowed to flow. The Self knows perfectly well how to run our life. The Self knows perfectly well how to maintain the body.

“It is felt that lately there has been more attention to experiences than the Self.”

It is the nature of attention to jump around like this. It will jump around from here and there. Don't expect to be in a particular state; don't expect that attention should not leave home, because in this pushing, it will jump around even more. It is the nature of attention to do this; just don't believe any interpretation about it. Without you believing your thought, nothing can cause any trouble for you. Your true nature will be apparent to you, completely.

Let attention go where it can. Leave your attention completely free. Sometimes I feel we have misunderstood the teaching and we try to constrict our attention either to be very strongly with the sense ‘I Am’ or be completely at home in the pure Awareness itself. But Freedom is not this constricted state.

See, many come to me with this confusion; they come with this constricted state that ‘attention should not leave, should not waver’. Just leave it completely free. It's completely harmless. Among the two forces, attention and belief; as long as you're not investing your belief, attention can cause no trouble.

“Am letting go of every thought that attempts to control life.”

All thoughts, if you see, are some attempt, either subtle or strong, at controlling life. So when you say ‘I'm letting go of every thought that attempts to control life’ this means you're letting go of all thoughts. All thoughts are a resistance to what is. Even the thought that says ‘I am accepting what is’ is a resistance to what is, because it invents this separate entity ‘I’ which is accepting what is. You see, it's very subtle like this. As we speak more and more, you will realize the subtleties of this trickster.

SUPREME INTELLIGENCE HAS OUTSMARTED THE TRICKSTER

“The trickster is subtler and subtler.”

Let’s just take a minute on this point. Beingness is the Supreme Intelligence. You, Consciousness, are the Supreme Intelligence. And this trickster also gets its intelligence from You. But ultimately the Supreme Intelligence will prevail. No matter how much of the intelligence it has inherited from You, (and it seems to know all the buttons to push), ultimately You are the Supreme Intelligence. So now the trickster cannot trick You. In fact, all suffering now is seen as an opportunity to transcend the false, to transcend an identity. In this way the Supreme Intelligence has outsmarted the trickster. Because suffering, which was meant to keep you in personhood, is now seen as an opportunity to transcend this false identity.

“Throwing out the concept of a spiritual path. I am That.”

Yes you are. Yes ‘I Am’. Therefore we are One. This is the true meaning of Oneness. This is the true meaning of Advaita. There is no separation. There is no person. All is Consciousness. All is the Absolute Awareness, the ever-present Witnessing even of Consciousness.

HOW TO BECOME MISERABLE VERY FAST

We do not have any excuses left to suffer. What can make you suffer now? We are making it simpler and simpler so that no more excuses can remain. It's super simple now; and we're saying that the simplest way is to let go of your next thought. Yet there are some who said ‘I am having trouble letting go, how do I let go?’ So I felt that we must make it even simpler if possible.

I feel it is even simpler to say: Don't believe your next thought.

Don't believe your next thought. This is completely simple to understand. It is also seen that to not give belief to the next thought is not a doing, is not any work, you see? With this, can you find any way to suffer? Without believing your next thought, can you find any way to suffer?

It's as simple as that, isn't it? Then what remains? What is still left to be done? When there is no more suffering, then what is left to be done?

I want to leave you without any excuses. You have no reasons left now to suffer. Actually, there's only one reason. Suffering is caused only by one reason and that is through belief in thought. The other day I was joking and saying that we will maybe use the other way to say this: If you want to become miserable, if you’ve not suffered for a long time and you're really missing it and you want some misery…, if you want to be miserable I have the simple solution for you: quickly believe your thoughts. [Smiling]

We can call this satsang: ‘How to become miserable very fast’. Do we want to be miserable? Which thought are you believing now? Which thought are you believing?

You see for a while what happens is it seems like ‘I must believe something’ because it seems too unsteady without belief in something. That is why we have satsang, because you can believe these words. For the time being you can believe these words and not the words coming from your mind; not your egoic thoughts. You can believe these words in satsang and these words will self-destruct. They will self-destruct and leave you as complete emptiness. That's why Bhagavan [Ramana Maharshi] has said that these are thorns which we're using to remove the older thorns of identification. So use the words in satsang; use these tools to free yourself.

“When there's no more suffering, what's left?”

You have to tell me. Whatever I say will become an expectation for the mind. You see? Right now when you don't believe a thought you can tell me what is left. You can check if there is anything lacking. Is there anything missing? Is there any lack at all of anything?

“The habit of believing oneself to be a person is so strong.”

Yes, but don't energize it more by believing even this thought. You see, the mind is a trickster. It’ll pretend to be your ally and it’ll say ‘The habit is so strong’. It is not stronger than You. It arises from You. Nothing is strong for You.

Don't postpone the journey. Don't make it a journey. It is now! You are free now! To make a journey out of it is also a tactic to postpone. Without believing a thought, show me how you are not free. See who you are, see what you are without believing a thought.

I feel in just this one phrase: ‘Don't believe your next thought’ can be the end of all suffering. If all else has become meaningless for you; all you want is God, all you want is freedom, all you want is to realize your own Self; if this is the only desire that is left then the words in satsang will explode what is false in you. This explosion will not leave you with any concept.

Are you ready for this explosion? Are you still hiding something? Is there still some desire left? Do you want to be an enlightened person? If you want to be an enlightened person then that is not possible. Enlightenment means the person idea dissolves. The impossible one is seen through.

“I am ready for this explosion! How will we live then? Work-wise? Lots of thoughts arising, shall I ignore them?”

Yes. But do not run from them. I usually don't recommend ignoring something because it is usually not so simple to turn your eyes away. I give you the easier way. The easier way is to not give it your belief.

The thought will say ‘If you're not ambitious, what is going to happen to your work?’ But you know now that work is happening on its own. Life is flowing on its own. The universe does not need help from your mind. God does not need help from your mind to work. If it is work which is auspicious to happen in your life, then work will happen; but you will be unconcerned by any of this.

Once you realize who you are you will be unconcerned about whether you are a king or whether you are a beggar. And even in this, you can see some fears might arise, isn't it? When this is heard then some fear might arise saying ‘I don't want to become a beggar; how can I choose the king option?’ You see, it's like the red pill and blue pill. Which pill do I have to swallow to get the King Janaka enlightenment? Then that is not surrender. If you already decided that this is the way it's going to be, then these decisions are coming from the mind. You are completely untouched by any appearance. The Witnessing/the pure Awareness is not touched by any appearance.

You can check this for yourself. See how an appearance here in the external world or an appearance in the internal world of thoughts, memories, emotions is actually touching You. How is anything actually touching You?

When we don't predict that the life is going towards becoming the king of the universe or a beggar on the streets, when we stop predicting and we say ‘Let thy will be done’ then we realize that we are the Supreme Lord itself. Even a king means nothing to the Supreme.

This is not a personal universe you see? There is no person here. Is this a person's body? Are these a person's thoughts? No! The person never existed. The universe is the body of God. I have said this before, isn't it? The universe is the body of God. Let God do what He likes with His body.

WHAT EXCUSES ARE LEFT NOW?

What excuse do you have to suffer now?

“No excuse possible.”

“Excuses can come, but is quickly able to be seen now.”

See the thoughts will keep coming, and each of these thoughts is an excuse to suffer, but they cannot work on their own. They need the forces of attention and belief to first work on them. Without your attention and belief they are meaningless. And I know that to withdraw attention seems difficult initially, but withdrawing belief is easy. So if you don't believe your next thought you have no excuse left to suffer. Truth does not rely on a thought, only the false needs the crutches of thoughts. Truth does not rely on belief. Truth does not become better with belief. The false becomes stronger with belief.

So how do I know that satsang will win? Eventually satsang will prevail because the enemy does not exist. The ego never existed. It was just a dream, it was a daydream, it was imagination. So all our concepts; doer-ship, humility, arrogance; all the concepts we have about our self will be washed away in satsang. And we will not feel a lack of anything all. Nothing will be missing. All is in service to You and nothing is in service to your mind. As long as you live the life of the mind then you will always face resistance, you will face sorrow, you will face grief; all that we call suffering. When you stop living the life of this mind, when you stop catering to the needs of this ego, then no trouble can last.

Yes it can be tricky, yes it can be subtle, yes it knows all the buttons that can be pushed, but You are the Supreme Intelligence, and if you truly want freedom then the trickster’s game is over now. So if you're willing to explode everything for this freedom, then you will realize that You are God. But the explosion must include the desire to be free; the desire even to be liberated. Even that will go away eventually because it is all a person's desire. ‘All There Is’ cannot have any desires, can it? You are ‘All That Is’ pretending to be a mere person, pretending to be the imagined one. That's why we made it very simple now. I'm not even saying let go of your next thought, I'm only saying ‘Don't believe your next thought’. That we can do. To withdraw our belief from the next thought is super-simple.

Ultimately, all thoughts, all concepts and beliefs, including freedom, must be thrown into the fire of satsang. And this desire for freedom is very auspicious initially because it burns all other desires first, and then burns itself as well. So ultimately even this will go. If there's still a person here wanting to be seen to as a liberated one, if there's still a desire to be an ‘enlightened person’ then remember, that that will never happen. No ‘person’ has ever been enlightened.

Just follow these simple pointings, which are not even effort actually. They're the dropping of all effort. The mind will come and say ‘This is too difficult’ but it is nothing but a mere thought. The mind will come and say ‘I am not there yet’. The mind will come with all kinds of excuses. The mind will even now come and pretend that it doesn't even want freedom. Just let go of this trickster.

There are no ‘others’. If there is no person here, then there is no person anywhere. It is all God, it is all Consciousness. It is one Being. God has no trouble running our life.

“God was seen and God disappeared.”

When you say ‘God was seen and God disappeared’ that is not possible, because you are still here. So God must have been seen as my own Being. You see? God cannot be seen phenomenally in that way. God must have been seen as my own Being or ultimately as the pure Awareness itself. This Being cannot go anywhere. Can you stop being now? If you can stop being now, then I’ll believe your word that God disappeared.

If this Being can leave you now, then you can say God has disappeared. But if this Being is here, then this is God. No other phenomena, no other experience, no other state. No appearance is God. All appearances come from God. You see?

The Being can be seen. Not through the senses, but when you check ‘Can you stop being now?’ and you answer ‘no’ then you have seen the Presence of Being.

This Presence of Being is perceived. Because it is always there, we find that there is nothing special that is seen, but this Being is the birth of the entire universe. The light that gives birth to the entire universe is your own Being. You see? What comes and goes is not real. This Being is ever-present; and in the simple answering of ‘Can you stop being now?’ you see that Beingness is still here.

Chapter 5

It's All About You-as-Presence

WHAT A SILLY QUESTION!

For freedom, what do you have to do now? Do you have to stay in a particular state? Do you have to focus on the sense of Being? Is there anything that is required to be done for you to become free? Do we need more knowledge? Do we need to be constantly in the Presence of Love? What else is required to be done now?

This must come from our own concept of ‘What is freedom?’ If freedom is still a state, if freedom is a state of mind, then to achieve a state of mind we can say that something must be done. But this is not true. Freedom is not a state of mind. Freedom is your own true nature. Your Self is ever free and the Self is here now. Therefore the Self was never bound. Bondage was only a daydream.

What must be done to find freedom? Most of you have said ‘Nothing to be done’. So you know this already. Nothing is to be done. Therefore, if nothing is to be done, are you free now? If nothing is to be done, then you must be free now.

ABSOLUTE OR RELATIVE

“From an absolute point of view, nothing needs to be done. But from a relative point of view one needs to release thoughts and identify with the true Self.”

Yes. Conversationally we can say it like this, that from the absolute point of view, nothing. From the relative point of view, we need to let go of our thoughts. But the only true point of view is the absolute point of view; the point of view of Awareness itself. This is the only point of view which is ever-present. For any other point of view we have to imagine ourselves to be something we are not. If we have to imagine ourselves first to be something we are not, what takes more effort? What takes more effort, the Absolute or the relative?

The mind will confuse us about this and it will say that first we must get through the relative and that will take us to the Absolute; but have we ever contemplated this? What is more difficult? It is more difficult to first put on the persona, to imagine ourselves to be something we are not and then work from that perspective.

When all false perspectives are dropped, then what remains?

Who is seeing now?

Who is aware now?

It is not about the answer. It is just the looking.

Who is aware now?

The One who is aware now, does that One have any dimensions?

Can this One be relative to anything else?

“Awareness is aware now.”

“Witnessing is Self-aware.”

For this Awareness, this Witnessing, is there something called the relative perspective?

See, it must become totally clear. The instant we drop all efforts, we see that what is here now is just the pure Awareness itself.

WHO DECIDES?

No effort required; and it is clearly seen what we are. Then what decisions do you have to make now? You say that ‘I have seen that I cannot do anything because I am the pure Witnessing of all that appears and disappears; but how do I decide what to do next?’ It sounds very funny when I say it like this, but I still get some questions around ‘How do I decide?’ If you are not the doer, then what decisions can be made?

“No decisions.”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“Nothing here. Just resting as Presence.”

“Not even concept of decision.”

“Awareness is in charge.”

“But did find myself calling the dentist, as if guided in that moment.”

Yes. The life will continue to unfold. This is very good that she brought this up. Because when we say this, we feel that we will come into a state where no movement will happen, that no action will happen. All actions and movements will continue to happen. What is seen is that I-as- a-person was never a doer; but Consciousness has been doing things all along. All is just flowing in the light of Consciousness. The calling of the dentist can happen but there was no individual who decided to call. It was just another feeling. The feeling of the individual sense of ‘me’.

She says that in the moment she was guided. It is true but even this ‘you’ was not an individual person. It was Consciousness itself who said that ‘I will move’ or ‘I will change the way the light is shining so that the appearance appears differently’. The individuality cannot even hide behind being guided by intuition now. It is all just One Being itself, playing this game of being guided also. And with this understanding there is so much freedom. With this understanding there is a complete dropping of the ‘me’ concept. Because the ego cannot live without the sense of doing something.

DOING AND NOT-DOING

The ego constantly needs to be doing something. Even a ‘not doing’ it is okay with. When I say even a ‘not doing’ this means it is doing ‘not doing’. The neutrality is our true state. When we say ‘I'm doing’ or ‘I'm not doing', when we say ‘I'm the doer’ or ‘I'm not the doer’ both imply that this ‘I’ exists as an individual entity.

Then we see that something does not exist. When we say ‘something’ does not exist, then will we attribute even a non-doing attribute to it? Will we say that ‘I am not the doer'? Or will we call an object that doesn't exist a ‘non-doer'? No. Because it is irrelevant. It is not applicable. All attributes are not applicable now.

“God is my secretary now.”

Yes. This can be said from the perspective of the Absolute; only from the perspective of the Absolute Awareness. It's a question of definitions. So if we are saying that ‘The Absolute Awareness is what I am’ then we see that what appears in this Absolute Awareness is this sense of Consciousness or this Beingness-I-Am. If we define this Consciousness as God then we see that this entire projection is for me. It's in service to me. And therefore we can say these words ‘God is my secretary now’. Without any sense of pride or arrogance, we can say these kind of words, if our definitions are like this.

In the presence of someone who is mind-orientated, also we don't have to worry about how to behave, what to say. Let life take care of itself. Like my Master says: ‘Leave your existence to existence’. Then you will find that in your own Presence even the apparent others’ minds will turn towards silence, and they will have a desire for the same peace which you are experiencing.

WHAT APPEARANCE CAN TOUCH YOU?

There is no doing needed, there is no decision making needed. Then what is left? There is no choice, no decision making, no effort, no doing. Then what is left? Then what could be left is just a feeling that ‘something should arise in my appearance; and something else should not arise’. That is also a subtle preference, a subtle decision that you have made.

Therefore we can become completely open and fearless towards any appearance. Because no appearance can really touch you. When I say ‘become fearless’ it does not mean that you have to do something to become fearless. It is only to contemplate whether any appearance which is arising can touch this Awareness, can touch what You are.

Can any appearance touch what You are?

Can you find an appearance which can touch the Witnessing?

“I am totally fearless. Nothing can touch Me ever.”

Good. What can hurt the Witnessing?

What can make the Witnessing suffer?

“I am neutral Witnessing. Nothing can touch Me. Emotions may be seen but they have no effect on Me.”

“In silence, chaos is taking place. (So glad I don't have to figure it out).”

This chaos is also an appearance. The awareness of chaos or the awareness of non-chaos is untouched by any of these states. Just in the same way as awareness of mind and awareness of no-mind is untouched by either state. Nothing is stronger than You. In fact You are beyond any definition of strength. How can One that is completely untouched by any appearance even be in the paradigm of strength or weakness? It is not. It is beyond any such attributes. You are beyond any such attributes. All we are doing is talking about You.

“Over last couple days it's more clear that nothing can touch Me.”

“Witnessing is not touched. Witnessing only sees and cannot be seen or otherwise acted upon. It's a one way street.”

STILL FEELING SEPARATION?

“It is seen nothing can touch Awareness and yet some separation is felt between ‘me’ and Awareness. This thought of separation still has some juice but is seen through.”

Let's come to the now. Is there a ‘me’ here now? I feel this is a common testimony to say that ‘There is still some distance between Awareness and me’. Is there a ‘me’ here now? Who can find the ‘me'? It's very good to contemplate these things, even if the mind is saying ‘I already know this’.

Even if there's this ‘me’ which you might ultimately be referring to as the sense 'I Am', as the Presence of Beingness, even this is witnessed; there is Awareness even of this. To Awareness, even this seems to arise and subside. Ultimately this Awareness is You.

You might say ‘I witness even the Pure Being-I-Am'. In that statement itself, you say that You are the Witnessing and not even the Pure Being; You're prior to even the sense 'I Am'. That's why Mooji has this book called ‘Before I Am’. What is before even 'I Am' in which the light of the entire Universe gives birth? It is not Awareness, which can ever get stuck with something or get caught up in person-hood.

Ultimately you are only the Witnessing of all there is. So when the Presence of even Being is not there, we see that Awareness is all there is. Pure Seeing, Pure Witnessing is all there is. Then the birth of Being happens. So where must this Being be coming from? If Awareness is all there is, then Being also must be coming from Awareness itself. There is nothing outside of Awareness. Therefore Being also must be made up of Awareness itself.

We say that ‘Ice is also water. It's just in a different form’. Being is also Awareness itself but it ‘feels’ different. It ‘seems’ different. Just like ice seems different from water. When there's an ice cube inside a bowl of water, is it one or is it two? It feels like it is two but ultimately it is all water, isn't it?

SIMPLY THE SEEING ITSELF

“I am the Seeing, but not as an ‘I’. It is selfless.”

Yes! That is what I've been trying to say. [Laughing] This is what satsang is about. That this ‘I’ that you are is not a person. When you say ‘It is selfless', this selflessness is what I call the Self. This Absolute, without even the sense of there being any self, without any sense of individuality, without any sense of separation, is what I call the Self.

Therefore it is not the definitions I'm interested in. It is to see that ‘I am this Pure Seeing, this Witnessing, this Awareness is what I am’. With no sense of individuality, no entity, this is what You are. You are not a thing. For this Awareness, all states can come and go. This Awareness is what You are.

The final question could be: Can you ever stop being this Awareness?

Can you become something else?

Can you in reality ever become anything else?’

Can you ever become something else other than Awareness?

“No. Impossible.”

“There is nothing else.”

If you can never NOT be Awareness itself, is there anything that needs freedom here?

If you can never NOT be Awareness itself, do you need freedom now?

Do you need freedom?

At best we can say: Only in our dreams. Only in our imagination.

“What a silly question.”

Yes! [Laughing] So I'll start replying like this. When someone says ‘Can you give me freedom now?’ I'll say ‘What a silly question!’ Because you are Awareness itself.

How can Awareness be bound?

How can we give freedom to Awareness?

“Freedom is.”

No matter what daydream comes, what imagination comes, what game we play, You are untouched by all of this. Because you cannot stop being the Awareness. You can try.

Stop being the Witnessing now.

Stop the Witnessing and become only a person.

Can you stop the Witnessing?

What will you do to turn the Witnessing off?

Then you might say ‘I can't stop the Witnessing but how do I know that I am the Witnessing?’

Can you try and step away from the Witnessing?

Can you stand aside from the Witnessing?

Can you create some distance between you and Witnessing?

“Witnessing is always here.”

Can you stand apart from this Witnessing?

Can you create a real separation between Witnessing and your Self?

“I am the Witnessing.”

So, even when the sense of being a separate person is arising, even then ‘I am only the Witnessing alone’.

“No distance. Selfless Self is always here and is sensed as ‘I-am-That’.”

Yes. When we say that ‘I am this Self’ then there is no trouble possible. No suffering can arise. [Silence and expression of great peace]

“Everything is on fire here. Let what can, be burned. Doesn't actually matter, as nothing touches.”

For you, you do not have to be concerned with even the fire. Isn't it? Awareness is unconcerned of whether there is fire no fire.

“So much love is here. So much love!”

This Love is in service to your true Self.

WITHDRAWING BELIEF FROM THOUGHTS

There is no thought which we need to be concerned about at all. If you're not concerned about thought, then nothing can bother us. This is openness, this is allowing, this is non-resistance. A thought is only resistance to what is. A thought is ‘what should be’. Belief in a thought means a non-acceptance of what is. Resistance means a non-acceptance of what is. Ultimately, resistance is a non-acceptance of God. Actually, it is seen like this. What is: It is. What is, is. What appears, appears. What is happening, is happening.

Then a thought comes that ‘This should be another way, this should not be like this, I want it to be different’ or ‘I want it to be always the same’. All of this is resistance. The function of the mind, the function of the ego, is to resist what is. In this state of resistance is the cause of the root of any suffering. When there is none of this resistance, when there is complete openness, then you cannot suffer. No knowledge is required; all is clearly seen. Our true nature is apparent. So resistance is another name for the ego.

There cannot be an ego without resistance. There cannot be separation without the resistance. Sometimes resistance becomes like this game. You’ve seen what is real. You know that you're the pure Witnessing itself, the pure Awareness itself, but you’ve played the game so long that you don't want to let go of it; then you say ‘Because there is so much resistance here’. It is the nature of the mind to resist. Don't expect the mind to change. Don't expect this leopard to change its spots; it will not. If you keep relying on the testimony of this mind then you will say that ‘I am still resisting’. Because the mind's function is to resist.

It is completely harmless. Even when we say that we give it reality through our belief, it is not real. To give it reality through our belief only means that we imagine it to be true. Don't imagine it to be true. That is the meaning of withdrawing our belief.

SHORT CONTEMPLATION

Just be aware of the thoughts that are coming.

Be completely open.

Be welcoming to all thoughts that are coming.

Don't resist any thoughts.

Welcome every thought.

Let all thoughts come and go.

If there is a thought that still catches your belief, then you can expose that to yourself or share it here.

[Silence] Very good, keep going. Don't get distracted.

[Silence] See which thought still gets your belief.

[Silence] Look for the specific thoughts.

See if there are thoughts about which thoughts are believed. Check if there are some thoughts which say ‘These are meaningful thoughts still; acceptable thoughts to believe’.

[Silence] Very good, very good.

There were some common threads. Initially what happened is that there were thoughts which were saying that ‘You are an individual doer who must do something’. They presume that there was an individual person here who could take this thought and use it to do something. There was a thought about acceptance about people; that you must ‘do’ acceptance. There was a thought about helping sick people or needy people; that you as a person must do something. All presuming that there is a person who must do something. But we have found now that there is no such person here. It's like the thoughts are speaking to nothingness. So this presumption that God needs a thought or Consciousness needs a thought to be able to do something; to be able to help suffering people, to be able to avoid heavy traffic, to be able to accept; does God need to rely on these thoughts?

Then it seemed like the second part of the thoughts which were getting believed and getting exposed here were thoughts about the lack of belief in thoughts itself. There were thoughts with more of a spiritual quality, isn't it? Consciousness does not need to rely on any of these spiritual thoughts also.

“The only thought that seemed to be believed was the thought ‘I don't believe this thought’.”

This is what Bhagavan [Ramana Maharshi] is talking about; that we use one thorn to remove the other thorn. So ‘Let go of the thought’ or ‘Don't believe the next thought’ is like this thorn, is the master thorn which is being used to remove all the other thorns; and then even this is thrown away.

“It is the thought of believing (in being) a mother and having a big responsibility.”

This is very good also, because it exposes the identity which still remains. So when the thought has some juice, we see that it exposes the identity which still remains.

“Yes, if there is belief in thought it is only from the position of the seeming-person.”

Yes. Thoughts are only referring to you as a person; even when They're calling you ‘Awareness’ they are saying that the person has become Awareness.

“What believes a thought is also a thought.”

Yes.

STRONG ENERGY WITHOUT A THOUGHT ATTACHED

“There is still this energy without any actual words. Hard to pin-point what is being believed.”

This energy sometimes can be strong. Some of you have suffered from these kind of energies for a long time. But they will not survive satsang. With your devotion and faith to the Satguru in your Heart, this Satguru will clean up all of this energy. Don't have any fear about it. Don't have any concern about it. There is no ‘me’ which this energy is touching anyway now. The ‘impossible one’ is gone. The ‘imagined one’ does not have belief now. So don't resist any energy; it is coming here to get burnt now.

Sometimes these energies get so strong that they try to prevent you from coming to satsang. But you are here. And since you say ‘The energy is here’ then I know the energy will not last. It will be burnt in the fire of satsang. You will find it diminishing more and more. Sometimes you will find that it goes into hiding, then just appears. These are all just repressed energies, you see, because of some events or something that happened. They will not survive.

THIS EMOTION IS GOING NOW

“Thoughts have some juice when paired with fear. But noticing when thoughts drop, so does this sensation.”

You will stop fearing fear also. You are the infinite space in which all emotions can exist; where all of them can appear, but none of them can touch You in reality. Then you see that it is just another feeling.

The difference between thoughts and emotions is that thoughts are energy constructs which seem to be coming and going very fast; but emotions are energy constructs which seem to linger on for longer. But in the same way, we do not resist them. We do not want to force them out also. Sometimes this is just some energy which is getting released.

When we say that some emotion is coming, it is actually going. If we don't resist it, we don't fight with it, then we don't perpetuate it. So instead of saying that ‘This emotion came’ we can say that ‘This emotion is going now’. But the Seeing of it, the Awareness of it, is completely untouched.

If we're not believing the thought about the emotion then also: no trouble. It is always the interpreter which is causing trouble. It is the interpreter which is resisting this emotion also. It is the interpreter which sometimes calls it excitement and another time it calls it anxiety. The only trouble is belief in this interpreter; even belief in the interpreter about our feelings or anything else which is appearing.

COMPLETE SIMPLICITY

“Very great! ‘Don't believe the thought’.”

Yes. I've even shifted from saying ‘Let go of your next thought’ because even this was causing some confusion as to ‘How do I let go?’ or ‘I'm not able to let go’. Now we looked at it and we made it even simpler; we said ‘Don't believe your next thought’. Just don't believe your next thought, and in this itself it is the end of your suffering.

“Have also found that even when hard to drop it, it was always easy to not believe it.”

So, we're moving towards complete simplicity. You see, even to say ‘Let go of your next thought’ was a little complicated sometimes, so we looked at it and said ‘What is it that is completely clear?’ This pointing ‘Don't believe your next thought’ makes it even simpler to understand. Just in this simple pointing is the end of all suffering.

“It's so beautiful, thank you.”

“When you said yesterday ‘I am not a thing’ this was so clear to me. A person is not a thing, so I cannot be a person. So simple. Thank you.”

You are no ‘thing’. How can you be a ‘thing’? You are not an object.

“The most beautiful thought in existence: Don't believe the next thought.”

Yes. At least the most useful thought in existence, we can say. Now we have stopped pretending to be an object. We have stopped pretending to be the impossible one. The impossible never IS. What You are is ever-present.

For many years, many lifetimes, we're in this strange state of hypnosis where just blindly we are believing ourself to be a thing or an object. For many, many years we have believed this. Then for the first time it was heard that ‘Do you want to find out who you are?’ There is a sense of strong resistance that came up for many of us when this question was first asked. You say ‘Of course I know who I am!’ We'll use the label or we’ll put the name for an identity and say ‘This is what I am. It is completely clear to me’. But through grace, this openness comes to just look for yourself ‘Who am I in reality? What is it that is not coming and going?’ If grace gives us this openness, just with this openness the false will completely unravel, and the truth has already revealed itself.

PURE GRACE

It is a beautiful life, it is pure grace. Everything moves according to the Divine plan. With this beautiful trust in life, just we can enjoy this game. Every moment is full of so much life, so much wonder so much joy, so much love. This beautiful sangha’s Presence is also so beautiful and loving and joyful. I thank you all so very much.

YOU ARE YOUR OWN DESTINATION

Has anybody had any trouble with the simple instruction ‘Don't believe your next thought’? I used to say that the simplest pointing to the end of suffering is to ‘Just let go of your next thought’. But I realized that some of you came back to me and said that ‘I am not able to let go’. Therefore there was the feeling to make it even simpler and to say ‘Don't believe your next thought.’ But with this now, is any suffering possible?

“No, Anantaji, not any trouble.”

“No problem at all. Made it even more simple.”

“No, it's a gem.”

“No trouble and only clarity.”

“No suffering is possible now.”

“Not possible, Father.”

“We have a key in our hands; actually in our Hearts.”

“’Don't believe your next thought’ produces the ‘let go’ automatically.”

“Can’t suffer.”

This is so beautiful. This is very beautiful. Because how many Beings in the world can truly say this? How many Beings in the world can truly say this, that I have lost the ability to suffer? Now you can also say that ‘I have seen that what I really Am has never suffered at all’.

“True. What I am has never suffered at all.”

“Something carries on as if it suffers. But I can truly say, I can't suffer.”

Very good. So the appearances can continue. We can call it pain; some pain can continue. But truly now to be able to say ‘I suffer’ is not possible. And even if some suffering comes it is seen to be only momentary. When some past conditioning or some strong conditioning from the past can come back, and belief is given to it momentarily, only then we suffer for a few moments. But more and more, this suffering will start to seem like an alien concept.

The beautiful part is that you will not lose your compassion for those who are suffering. Even though it seems like an alien concept, it is beautiful that even after Freedom the memory of what happened in the past still remains. So we will not be judgemental or lose compassion for those who still seem to suffer.

I know some of you are already going through some of what would have seemed like very strong events in your lives. Some of you are going through health problems. Some of you are going through job-related issues, money problems, relationship problems. And yet now you are able to say that ‘I cannot suffer. All these appearances are coming and going, the pain is coming and going, but truly I can see that I do not suffer’.

In your saying this, actually, it makes something feel like this life has been worthwhile. The appearance of this life seems to have been worthwhile just by this testimony that you are giving. It's all my Master’s Grace, and I consider this satsang as seva for my Master. All of you are such a beautiful sangha, that in losing your ability to suffer you have actually made this life worthwhile.

“If I observe pain as an object (without interpretation) ıt is over, Anantaji.”

Yes. The only problem ever is the interpretation; although it's not actually the interpretation but the belief in the interpretation. It is the only problem ever.

You see, once we have lost the ability to suffer then all the rest is just for fun. The bite has now been taken out. The poison is now out. With this letting go, your inner conflicts are getting wiped clean. And when your inner conflicts are all getting wiped clean, your outer conflicts will not matter. And when they cease to matter, you will see that over a period of time it will become impossible to have long-term outer conflicts also. So conflicts might emerge moment to moment, even now. But because now you cannot hold on to resentment, you cannot hold a grudge now, even the outer conflicts will go away.

In A Course in Miracles it says ‘Love holds no grievances’. So you will find it impossible now to hold a grievance. Some short-term grievances could come; even with me you could have some short-term grievances. These kind of mental grievances can come up. But they cannot stay because you actually know how much I love you in my Heart, and I know that we are One actually. So you will lose the ability to hold any grievances.

You will not go with the mind's conclusions about anything at all. You do not now need any decisions, you do not now need any preferences, you do not need any conclusions. All of these are just resistance.

You don't have to come to any conclusions at all. Life is not about conclusions. The ego is all about conclusions. The ego is all about preferences. The ego is all about decisions and the ego is all about conclusions. Life is not interested in any of this. Life is just flowing on its own. So don't come to conclusions about anything at all, not even about your Freedom. Just let it unfold naturally on its own.

So we have exploded the ego now. Of course, some shreds will always remain but for most of you we have exploded the ego now. And what we thought will be a huge explosion is nothing but a bursting of a bubble. It is not even that. It was only an idea. So all we have done is burst an idea. It was just a stupid idea that we have picked up along the way, and now we have left it.

As you keep letting go, as you keep dropping your belief in your thoughts, this beautiful neutrality will be there for you. From this neutrality in the moment everything can flow. We don't have to make the effort to love everyone. Don't make it work. Don't even make it something to aspire to. You just be neutral now and from this neutrality everything will continue to flow beautifully. Don't even try to be loving, don't try to be compassionate. Nothing that is ultimately true requires a doership, requires a doing. All that is true is flowing on its own.

Don't even feel it is like somewhere that you have to get to. Drop all ideas of journeys and destinations. You have never left the destination. You are your own destination. This is the journey of self-realization, you see? You have always been your own destination. The instant you realise this, that is self-realization. I am already That. I am already Me. I am the Self. The Self already means Me. You are already That. Nothing needs to be done. You don't have to go anywhere.

So be neutral. Don't make it a goal. Be neutral. Then you will see whether ‘the impossible one’ is possible, or whether the Eternal One is possible. You might even come to a point where you will start to wonder ‘How is it that I could get really conflicted about something?’ Just be neutral and don't believe your next thought. Simple, simple. You are the Light of the Universe actually.

“Father, sometimes when you say something that doesn't yet completely feel true here, I accept it, always knowing that what’s true for you is true for me. Soon it becomes my reality too. It's like a cheat code.”

My truth is yours. We are One.

Who could have ever guessed that it is so simple? It is often said that ‘It is not easy but it is simple’. I want to say today that it is ‘super easy’. Don't even believe that it is not easy. Is there any pointing which you find difficult now? If you find something that is difficult, you can expose it and we can look at it. It is good for me also to know, so that I can work towards making it more digestible, so I can make it more palatable; to distil the teachings for you so that complete freedom is there for you now. Simply to make it easy to understand what is true right now and how the play of this ego is just a trivial ‘nothingness’, the ‘impossible one’.

GRACE

The definition of Grace that I like is the one that says that: ‘Everything, every appearance is Grace. All is the Grace of God’. But there's another definition of Grace which I've heard Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi using sometimes which says that ‘Grace is Unearned Blessing: Undeserved Blessing’.

If I were to look back at the story of this life also, the encounter with Mooji was definitely ‘undeserved’. It cannot be found that in the life of this person there was something so special that I got the Grace of my Master. ‘Wonder’ is the right word. But know that Grace knows exactly what it is doing; and all Beings are completely deserving of this Freedom because we are all One Self. We are One Being and One Seeing.

That's why we can say that ‘All is Grace’. See that every moment of the appearance, even though it might have seemed so painful when it occurred, is all for This; is all for our Freedom.

I see no dichotomy in the two definitions. And I also see no trouble with it, if you feel that you are not Free yet, and you believe that this Ultimate Freedom is only available for one in a million, then this should not be demotivating. It should say ‘Yes, I am that one in a million. This Freedom is for me’. If you feel that you have found this Freedom, this Love, Peace and Joy in your Heart; then you can say that ‘It is completely undeserved, yet I know that I am the One whose Grace is also flowing here’

SANGHA LIGHTS UP THE UNIVERSE

In some glimpses there I saw, the Master kept emphasizing the point of the Sangha; which I felt is new. I don't feel he's emphasized on the Sangha so much in the past. So it's beautiful that this Sangha is a part of his Sangha, isn't it? We're here to support each other in this beautiful, beautiful Freedom.

You diminish each other’s doubt. In your Light, it is clear the possibility of Light in our own Self is seen. That is the beauty of the Sangha; that in the Light of the Sangha your own Light seems very possible. Because if it is only a Master; if it is only a Teacher actually, then sometimes the Light seems unapproachable. It seems like the mind can sell the story that it is ‘only for the rare one’ that this Awakening can happen.

Another beautiful part of the Sangha is that the problems are shared and we find that ‘I'm just the same’. We're all just the same. When you see the Light of the Sangha then you see it is possible for all varieties; from people across the world: some devotional, some intellectual, some jnani, some bhakta, some young, some old, some with strong bodies, some with weak bodies, some with good English, some with bad English. Nothing matters. It is an open possibility for all of you.

Thank you for being such a beautiful Sangha which is going to be the Light of the Universe. Actually it already is. You are the Sangha actually. All of you are the Sangha.

So much love to all of you.

Thank you all so very much.

Moojiji ki Jai ! [Namaste]

CONVERT THIS BELIEF TO DISBELIEF

The cause of all suffering is thoughts. More specifically, it's our belief in thoughts. I did not say ‘some suffering’. I did not say ‘most suffering’. I said the cause of ALL suffering is belief in our thoughts. And it is very simple to withdraw our belief.

It is as simple as that. This whole journey of freedom from suffering comes down to this one simple point. You cannot suffer without believing a thought. At the root of all suffering is this belief. So if you can convert this belief to disbelief, then it is done. Just convert this belief to disbelief and it is done.

A thought will come and say ‘But this is too difficult’ or ‘I'm not able to do this.’ But see, that it is just another thought. A thought will come and say ‘But who will run my life?’ This is just another thought. We can look at any of these thoughts and look at the concepts behind them and see that they are completely untrue. Because at the root they are talking to you as if you are a person. But you were never this person. So at the core of all thoughts is this untruth, of your personhood. Then we must not believe any thought.

“It is done. The most simple.”

“Today a spiritual looking thought ‘Express your love to the loved ones around’ also caused me to suffer for some time because it seemed I was not doing something right.”

Yes, at the root all thoughts, even the best looking ones, is only suffering. Don't believe any thought irrespective of how well-dressed it is. Even if it is the most well-dressed thought it can be let go of.

A thought is never neutral. It is either about pride or about guilt; it is either about arrogance or it is about humility; it is about forcibly doing something or forcibly not doing something. The mind does not understand neutrality. Neutrality means to let go of thoughts.

A SATSANG GAME

Can we first just withdraw our belief from our next ten thoughts? As a game, very playfully, can we just see this? So every time a thought comes, you count a number and you let the thought go. You don't give it your belief. When you get to ten thoughts you can say ‘done’ or you can say that ‘it is over’ or something like this. [Silence].

“Even the thought ‘no thoughts are coming’ is seen.”

This becomes a very common thought when we are trying to play some of these experiments. It's very good you spotted this. I'm sure many of you have this experience of this thought coming that ‘No thoughts are coming’. Because the interpreter tries to interpret everything, isn't it? It tries to sneak in like this. Many of you would have actually found that thoughts have become very slippery; very difficult even to decipher what they are trying to say. In the seemingly controlled environment of this experiment, then they try to run from you. When we are running from our thoughts they seem to become stronger and stronger. But when we say, ‘Bring it on, let me see the next ten thoughts’ then they become slippery, they want to run.

“Done. Without belief, there is just peace.”

Yes. As simple as that. Reality does not need to be reinforced by thought. It is only the false beliefs which need the crutches of thoughts to survive, need the nourishment from thoughts.

“Interesting! I noticed that looking for thoughts was quite efforting.”

You see? We felt that letting go of thoughts was effort. Now we see that even to bring them to our attention seems like so much work.

“Mostly silent. A form of restless energy was perceived which was breathed out.”

Yes. Even a subtle interpretation that some energy is good or bad; as long as it is not believed, you will see that it will not last.

“Mind is getting used to the cold shoulder these days.”

Yes. With this cold shoulder, it will lose all its nourishment and it will start to dissolve.

“Releasing sensations and thoughts works better for me. I have more sensations than thoughts.”

If sensations are there, still the only trouble is the interpretation about them. You see? Still the master key is to let go of our next thought, to drop our belief in the next thought. Because in this way, we will not resist any energy or sensation. If we get into a judgment of the sensation, it becomes a resistance of that sensation and it continues. Don't say that this must or must not come. Let everything come and go in its own time. There is no rush for anything at all. You are the infinite space in which all of this can occur and it does not touch you. So all the energy can stay. Just keep withdrawing your belief about the thoughts about them.

“Thoughts start a sentence, then disappear.”

In our true light, in our complete seeing, all these thoughts actually are getting burnt. The mind does not want this to happen, so it starts withdrawing actually; it starts running away.

“When my bodily sensations quiet down, then the mind quiets down.”

Yes, but don't expect to get into any state at all. Because what the mind will say is that freedom is about being in a certain state, in a certain state of turiya or samadhi. So don't feel that freedom means freedom from a particular state or the presence of any state. That is freedom which is fearless then. No matter what is arising, freedom cannot leave you.

“Ananta, I thought sensations are at a deeper level than thoughts. What do you think?”

If you were to invent this spectrum, then we can it say like this, no? We can say objects are far from us; thoughts are closer to us; emotions are even closer; Being is the closest. But the fact is that ultimately all of these are just appearances. For the witnessing actually there is no distance. So at one level what you say is right. But ultimately for Awareness there is no distance from any of this. All is arising inside.

“The thoughts that arise now seem connected to sickness in the body that is occurring.”

Sickness is also not a problem, unless we believe our interpretation of it. Sickness is another form of energy which is getting released, and unless we start believing our thoughts about it, it is not possible for sickness to cause suffering. It can definitely cause pain, but suffering will not arise.

“There were thoughts, but when belief was removed from the thought, there was an instant return to neutrality.”

“These thoughts are speaking to nobody.”

Exactly. There is no person here to which the thoughts are speaking to. That's why we call the thoughts the ‘wrong number’.

What is true will stay. In the letting go of thoughts, we will not lose anything. You will only lose your suffering and misery, and you will see that Joy, Love and Peace are constantly in service to you.

You cannot suffer without believing a thought. No matter how many thoughts come and tell you that it is possible, it is just impossible. Suffering means belief in thought. Belief in thought is the only problem ever. No matter how convinced we are that it is an external appearance, or it is another person, or it is pain in our body, or it is some disease, or it is some relationship, or it is our work, or situation with money; it is always only the belief in thought.

“Laughing at this thought that says ‘You will be too boring without any drama’.”

See the subtly of the thoughts which can grab us? Ultimately the ego is a drama queen. It loves creating all this drama just to keep us distracted from what we really are; just to keep our attention fixed on the false.

“My first one is ‘Come on. I am here as bus station’.”

Yes. Buses can come and go, but the station is unmoved.

“The Seeing is stronger than the belief in thought.”

I see all of you are getting deeply immersed in this simple pointing to not believe your next thought. With this simple pointing, it is my promise that suffering will not survive. We will lose the ability to suffer. Everything will come momentarily, all emotions will be allowed to come and be expressed, but nothing can last.

“So much peace and silence here after even dropping the subtle thoughts.”

“They drop automatically when belief is removed.”

“It is dawning on me that I am completely allowed to not believe my next thought; to not suffer. A thought appears, seems legitimate, but I am completely allowed to ignore it!”

Completely! You can now suffer only with your own permission; with your own approval. There are some thoughts that still always grab your belief. Then you can make a little note out of them, because these will point you to some identities that are still nourished. And as you inquire into those identities, you will see that they are untrue. They're talking about the imagined person. They are talking about the impossible one.

“A thought is coming ‘If I let go of all thoughts, I won't know what to do!’.”

God does not need to rely on thoughts to do what It has to. God does not need to rely on a thought to run the universe. God does not even need to rely on a thought to pay your bills.

“I can feel such joy and space arising from this contemplation.”

Very good. That is the purpose of this simple contemplation. No confusing instructions, not a lot of things to do. Just very simple.

“I want to expose that there is fear about letting go of thoughts about loving Sri Moojiji.”

This love is for the Satguru in your own Heart. ‘My Master is in my heart’ is not a thought, you see? It is seen to be completely true; and no thought of whether this is true or not can change this, because it is our living experience now. Once you have seen that the sun rises from the East, then no matter how many thoughts come and say it rises from the West, you will not believe them. Don't need to rely on thoughts for anything at all.

“The thought ‘Just don't believe you next thought’ keeps coming.”

It's okay. It's okay for a while. Ultimately this final thorn will be let go of. [Use one thorn to remove the other thorn, then both can be thrown away].

“Somehow there is the habit playing out these days to resist just everything. It is seen and I cannot take it serious anymore.”

Very good. As long as you see this appearance as just an appearance. As you’ll see, all of this is just the play of Maya; then it doesn't matter. As long as you're not calling it ‘me’ or ‘mine’ then there is no trouble. It's only when we call parts of the appearance ‘me’ or ‘mine’ that the trouble can start.

“Having the thought that ‘If I do this and then this, everything will be ok’.”

No ‘if’ is required; no path is required to come to Now. In the Now there is no trouble. You are what you are looking for right now.

“So much space and peace. Witnessing this. Thank you, Ananta.”

Yes, very good. Who could have ever imagined that freedom could be so simple?

“This desire for freedom is a strong desire still.”

Where is it? Where is this desire?

You see, it is only that we nourish the thought about wanting freedom so much, we believe it so much, that it seems to still be strong. But with this letting go now, there might be a fear that ‘If I let go of even this desire for freedom, then nothing will remain’. And that might seem a little scary. But I am holding your hand, nothing will happen to you. Just let go of any thoughts, even about freedom. You have nothing to worry about. I am in your Heart. Just let it go.

YOUR OWN BEING IS THE SATGURU

No journeys are required now. No path is required; nowhere to go. What you are seeking is already here. The Satguru stays in your own Heart. Your own Being is the Satguru himself. Your own Being is God himself. Then what could you be looking for now?

Where would you like to go? What would you like to happen? Which event is required to prove to you that you are completely free now?

What you seem to be missing is your own Being. And I said seem to be, you see? Your own Being is the source of all phenomena. Everything that you could look for in the human experience comes from this Being itself. And you cannot stop Being. So there's nowhere to go, nothing to find. You cannot stop this Being. That's why we say that it's not even the fish that's thirsting for water now. The fish in the ocean thirsting for water is a funny example. But this is the water thirsting for water! The Self trying to find the Self is water trying to quench its thirst. You are what you need to quench your thirst. You are what you have been thirsting for. Where would you need to go to find yourself?

How could the Self have gone missing that now you are looking for it?

So the question ‘Who am I?’ or the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ is the simplest enquiry. It's the simplest question; but for the mind it is the most difficult. If you stop relying on the mind for a little bit of time, you will see that you have always been this pure Witnessing which is witnessing all that is appearing.

You cannot stop being this pure Awareness. [Silence]

So what are you right now? [Silence] Who are you right now?

We don't need to go to memory, we don't need to go to imagination. No past is required, no future exists. Right now, what are you? [Silence]

We can answer what comes to our heart as a true seeing of what I am. [Silence] [Namaste].

“Every word you say rings true in my heart, and I know it to be true from my own experience; such joy!”

This is very good. You have to check from your own experience. The pointing is pointing you back to your true understanding of your own Self.

“I am – nothing – spacious – nothingness.”

So in the moment it is very easily seen that I Am This; that IAm this Beingness, and ultimately IAm this Awareness aware of even this Beingness.

It's very simply seen. Is there any trouble in this? Is there any suffering in this; in this that you see now? Is there any problem in the right now?

“I Am This.”

“What I can say from my experience right now is ‘I am aware’. And ‘I don't suffer as long as I don't believe a thought’.”

Yes. I am aware. See? He says ‘I am aware’. It's not a person that he's talking about. This Awareness does not belong to a person. If it did, if there is still a feeling that this Awareness belongs to a person, they must look for this person. Find out if this person exists.

“No trouble right now.”

“No trouble at all. Very content. No trouble. Only peace and love.”

This is very good. So can any of you say, in this moment, in the right now, that there is some trouble? Is there some suffering in this present moment?

“Not even the mental ability to label IT.”

“Any problems are only the problems in a story; either the story of the past or a story of the future, but in right now, there is no trouble at all.”

“No trouble. Only vast seeing.”

“And the story isn't ever real!”

“All is well.”

All of you say there is no trouble right now, not even the concept of suffering exists. You see it is the rare one; in this humanity it is the rare one who can speak these words, that now not even the concept of suffering exists.

So then now, what can happen which can make you suffer?

What is the work that is required from the place of non-suffering to go to a place of suffering?

What is it that is needed to be done? What do you need to do to suffer now?

“I cannot ever suffer. I can only imagine I am suffering.”

“No suffering.”

“To suffer I first have to imagine myself to be a person, and limited. Then I have to imagine problems for this imaginary person. Lots of hard work!”

“Although Awareness is meant to be higher, it feels like there is a feeling to just be blissful in Being.”

Yes. There is a lot of bliss in being with the sense of Being. This pure Being is here and maybe to experience this love, this bliss, this peace, this joy could be the reason for Being coming into existence. Otherwise, if Awareness is all there is, then as a modulation of this Awareness, why would this Being come into play? Maybe it was to experience this bliss.

Ultimately you will see that even this bliss will have no meaning for you. Even this, the highest bliss of Being itself, you will see that it's another experience, or just another state. But there is no harm in resting in this sense of Being; in fact many call it the ultimate sadhana, actually.

“If I believe the story that something is happening to ‘me’ it seems there is always some perceived ‘suffering’ but the story about this ‘me’ person is not real.”

Yes. This is very good. [Silence]

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING AND SEEING?

“Sometimes I cannot tell the difference between Being and Seeing. Is there a difference?”

Ultimately, no; but it's pretty apparent, in the sense that if I say: ‘Can you stop being?’ what is the sense you get?

“The sense of ‘I Am’.”

This sense of Beingness is here. If I say: ‘Can you stop seeing?’ what is the sense you get?

“The Seeing sees the Being.”

Yes. So that is it. Ultimately even this sense of Being is perceived, isn't it? And the perceiving is the same. So the same perceiving is perceiving the external world, our internal world; this Being. All of this Being is being perceived by this pure Witnessing; this Awareness itself.

In the waking state, when we say ‘I cannot stop being’ even that is witnessed, isn't it? So this Witnessing must be prior even to Being; even before ‘I Am’. So it is said that the father and the son are the same. The only difference is that the son comes from the father, but the father does not come from the son, although they are the same. So Being comes from Seeing, but Seeing is ever present, it does not come from Being.

We see that there is Being here, although there is no Being in the sleep state. There’s nothing; not even Being is there to report. But something is able to say that ‘Being was not there’. So there was an Awareness in sleep state also; and the same Awareness is here also.

JUST FLOATING CLOUDS IN THE SKY

It is so beautiful when you see that thoughts just come and go. You have now seen clearly that they are just coming and they are going. It is in our giving them our attention and belief that they seem to get some power. Otherwise they would just flow. The clouds in the sky; actually they just come and they just go. The sky is unaffected by them. See? In the same way, you are untouched.

Freedom from suffering is as simple as this.

The secret to be free from all of your suffering is: To not believe your thoughts.

Make it even simpler: Don't believe your next thought, no matter what it is saying.

So this is the simplest, super lazy man’s way to enlightenment: Just don't believe your next thought. Then you will not suffer. The key is the end of suffering.

Whatever comes, goes

Even if fear comes; and it's very natural for this fear to come that ‘My life is just going to fall apart’ or something like that. It's very, very auspicious that this fear is not coming; but even later if any sort of resistance comes, just let it unfold. Just experiment with it for a day or two and see that everything will continue to move very smoothly. There will be no trouble at all.

This is a beautiful seeing, because many of us have learned to associate the state of freedom as a particular state. Freedom only means a freedom for all states to arise. Freedom is not a state actually; it is a stateless state. Freedom would not be Freedom if it only meant that ‘We must be only like this’. It would be constrained actually; it would not be Freedom. It would be a fearful state; the fear of losing a particular state or a particular feeling of bliss or joy or love. That is not Freedom.

Freedom here means that ‘All is free to come. All energies are free to come and free to go. We are the infinite space in which all can appear and go’.

There were those uncomfortable feelings which were coming a while ago but they were given space, without the sense that they should be resisted or should not be here; and without the resistance, they don't last. Some remnants can last; some remnants have been felt here also, but there is no concern actually, because as Awareness I am untouched by whatever feeling is coming.

You are untouched by it. All of these identities have been picked up, but actually the person just does not exist. ‘The person’ is only a set of ideas; and the set of ideas which we have about ourself keeps changing. Freedom only means that there is no concern about it, there is no fear about it. When we stop living our life in fear of what state will come, that is Freedom.

So where is this person that we believed ourself to be? It actually does not exist. It is only in our imagination. It is only when it is believed that ‘I am this, I am that, I am this, I am that’…., that becomes ‘the person’.

NO PROBLEM

“The only report now left is that there's nothing to report.”

[Laughter] It is absolutely fine. I also have nothing to report. [Laughter] So if you feel that there is nothing actually, all is just coming and going, then no problem, no trouble, no suffering.

The whole world, 99.99% of humanity, if you go to them and say ‘Tell me your problems’ they will start with and they won't finish. They start from everything; every relationship, some problem, many problems; work problem, body problem, problems, problems, problems. So it is a rare Being who can say ‘I've no problems. I can't report anything to you’. So that is not a problem. [Laughter]

Nothing is ever a problem without our belief that something should be other than what it is. Let me repeat that: Nothing is ever a problem unless we believe that it should not be what it is. Now I can tell you very simply that: ‘You have no problem actually’.

COMPLETE SURRENDER/DEVOTION

There was a request to speak about Bhakti. I'm not sure if this term is familiar to all of you but Bhakti roughly translates into devotion. But I would say a better way to define Bhakti would be to say surrender. Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi had said that if you want to find the Self there are two ways. One is to surrender and the second is to inquire about your true nature. Both lead to the same goal. Both can lead to the complete realization of your true Self, this Self-realization which all of us are seeking.

In today's world there seems to be some sort of a dichotomy between Bhakti and Jnani; between Devotion and the path of Self-Inquiry. Today, hopefully, we will see that they are the same. They're ultimately the same.

What does it mean to surrender? Surrender actually means to hand over your existence to Existence. To hand over your existence to God, to the Guru, to the Universe, to Life: it all means the same thing actually. It's when we say ‘I hand it over’ or ‘I surrender to You completely. Let Thy will be done’.

'Let Thy will be done’ is a beautiful start to complete surrender. But today it is coming up to say that although it is a beautiful start, maybe in this statement also there is a need for some completion. What could be the completion of this beautiful statement ‘Let Thy will alone be done'? Maybe the completion needed here is that ‘You are now even the experiencer. If You are the doer, You must also now be the experiencer as well’. Because to say that ‘You are the doer and yet I am the experiencer’ is only half surrender.

If the Guru is the doer, then who must the experiencer be? Can there be any distance or difference between the doer and the experiencer? If Consciousness is the doer then Consciousness itself must be the experiencer, isn't it? It is important to caution against this half-surrender. Because when we see that this is only half-surrender then we will not have these kind of concepts like ‘Why does God always do this to me? I am such a good person; why do I always have to face this suffering?’ These kind of questions will come in the path of Bhakti sometimes. In the devoted ones, this is what we can caution against.

To say that ‘You are the doer and You alone are the experiencer’ is full surrender. What it means is ‘I cannot find what I am. I see only You anywhere I look. Everything is only my Beloved’. This devotion must always be accompanied by the presence of love. There cannot be devotion without love. We find that so much love is present here; and when love is present then fear cannot exist. Love and fear are opposites. If true love is present then fear cannot exist. You see? When fear doesn't exist then it is complete surrender. So surrender means this state of fearlessness. Whatever existence has in store for me is completely fine.

This is Devotion. This is Bhakti. To see the Beloved in everything that is seen; this is devotion. Then, ultimately you will see that the Seeing and the seen are not separate. That ‘I and my Beloved were never separate. There is no distinguishing line left now between me and the Beloved One’. This is Oneness. This is Jnana [Self-Knowledge].

What happens is that the fruit or the Prasad [gift] of this devotion, of this surrender, is to attain the Jnana of true Self-Knowledge as well. Therefore there is no dichotomy on this path. The devotee will ultimately come to the place of Oneness. The words that he speaks will be completely the same as a Jnani's words. Because now he has seen the truth. So devotion is not devoid of Self -Knowledge or Advaita or the non-dual path. There is no dichotomy.

In the same way, the ones who are temperamentally inclined towards searching or inquiring or knowledge come to the same conclusion that there is no difference between the Seeing and the seen. That ultimately Awareness and Consciousness are One. Resting in this Awareness, it is not possible to be in this Awareness without the Presence arising of love and devotion. This surrender automatically arises for the Jnani as well. So then it can be said that this devotion, this surrender, is the fruit or the prasad of the Jnani. He is not left without this Pure Love.

So just to visualize: as a metaphor you can look at it as two rivers going into the same Ocean ultimately, going into the same Ocean of true understanding, true realization; truly what you really are. This is a little bit about Bhakti devotion or surrender.

NO WAITING IS REQUIRED

“I really want to merge completely into Oneness/Existence of God. So I guess there is nothing except waiting patiently for the complete emergence?”

This is what we say about ‘It is water itself that now seems to be thirsting for water’. You cannot not be the Self. You cannot not be Awareness. You cannot not be the Witnessing and become anything else. You can try it right now. Stop being the Witnessing and become a person and show me. How will you do this trick? Therefore person-hood is nothing to be scared of. Even in the strongest belief in person-hood, you are Awareness alone. This truth is not coming and going. This truth is eternal.

Any of you, can you stop being Awareness and show me now? Become a person and show me? [Laughing] What you are referring to is a particular state. It is setting conditions on your awakening, setting conditions to your Freedom. The only thing, if we can say something is required to be done, then the only thing required to be done is to not believe any of these thoughts. We've made it so simple. Don't believe any of these thoughts. This power to withdraw your belief from these thoughts is completely yours. Don't let any thought convince you otherwise. Believe my words:

Now you are free. Now you are free. You are all free!

I'm not talking about some utopian state. And I'm not wearing rose colored spectacles in which I'm seeing you in a special light. I can say this about all Beings. How do I know that you are completely free? Because I know that there is no bondage possible for You. You cannot be bound at all. Can anybody show me what really binds You? How are You not free? Only when you refer to your thoughts, you refer to your ideas you have about yourself, then this kind of confusion will come.

It's time to now drop all of this. Just simple; three, two one: drop it! It is done. It is all nothing, nothing, nothing. Don't pick up a thought and show me the trouble.

A VIRTUOUS CYCLE

“The more devotion I feel, just naturally the more I want to inquire.”

This could be called a virtuous cycle, isn't it? Belief in thought is a vicious cycle which leads to deepening of identity. The more identity we pick up, the more we feel that we are being attacked and the need to defend. The more we feel that we need to attack or defend, the more thoughts we will pick up on how to do this. That I call defense. So that can be called a vicious cycle.

The cycle of devotion and inquiry can be called a virtuous cycle, which means that devotion feeds on knowledge, knowledge feeds on devotion. Truth cannot be far now. It is already here.

IS THERE A SEER?

“As the Seer, person-hood is fading. As the seen, it is non-existent.”

This is a very beautiful point. Because initially we say ‘Be the witness’. Initially it is okay for those who are new to satsang for the pointing to be ‘Just be the witness of all of this coming and going’. Then when the witness state becomes steady and all is allowed to come and go, then we say ‘Is there really a witnessing entity? Is there someone who is being the witness?’ This someone cannot be found. What is found is the Pure Witnessing itself, the Pure Awareness itself. There is no Seer actually.

There is no Seer. This is shocking for many traditionalists. For so long we've heard about the Seer, the Witness. In many scriptures also it is said like this; The Seer of the Witness. But actually there is no Seer. There is only the Seeing.

ARROGANCE OF PERSONHOOD

“Person-hood equals arrogance.”

Yes. At some level it is true. Person-hood means that ‘God is everywhere but me, and I am separate from God and I can do something’, that ‘I am something', that ‘I control something’. If this is not arrogance then what is it? To feel that ‘I can have a will which is separate from God', to feel that ‘I can be a separate entity’ is just the arrogance of the impossible one, of the one that never existed.

When you see that You are this Pure Witnessing itself and all phenomena comes from within You, you will know that all of this is Yours. You see God gives birth as Being inside Pure Awareness. It is this Beloved which is everything, which is everywhere. But if this is not an insight yet, then you don't force it. You just find out who You really are. Just stay with what You really are. Don't give your belief to any thoughts and one day it will be so clear that ‘All of this is Me. It is my own Self being projected in this way. It is my own Being which is the creator of all of this phenomenal appearance. In the light of my own Being, all this is appearing’.

Can anything appear without your Being? If Being is not there, then can any phenomena appear? It's an excellent contemplation. You just find out who You really are and stay with that, then this insight that ‘All is Consciousness’ will also arise.

“I see that; seeing the Self everywhere. It is known without knowing. Effortlessly love.”

Yes. It's completely effortless. Love is in service to you now. It is always in service to your Being. It takes no effort to find love. All the teachings of the mind, all the pointings from the mind (from the ego) are upside down. Everything is upside down.

So I say very simply that ‘Just don't believe your next thought’. In this, it is enough. I see no complication in this. I see no difficulty in this. If you believe my words, then in this moment you have finished your suffering. All the storyfication can be gone right now. There is no problem.

Clouds disappear or appear; just be fearless about it. Even if strong storm clouds appear, they cannot touch the sky. They only seem to appear in the sky, but the sky is not hurt by them. The lightning also cannot hurt the sky. All is allowed to appear and disappear. So don't feel that if some clouds are appearing that something is happening to you. Nothing is actually happening to you.

“Devotion has played a larger part in this for me. I trust you so completely, Father. Also seeing that all appearances arise within me proves that trust. So it is clear that there is no person here and God is running the show. Therefore, why worry?”

No desire and no aversion. I feel the guidance that is required for most Beings who are coming to satsang is to say also ‘no aversion’. Sometimes we have swung the pendulum too far back. We have gone so far back from our desires that somehow they have become aversions sometimes. It is the same thing: to desire, or to desire not to, have something. Both are the same thing. Therefore no desire and no aversion; let life flow as it is. You cannot be caught in any of this now. Neither this nor that. Just neutral.

PRESENCE IN THE PRESENT NOW

“If I am in the present, then is this the state of non-person-hood?”

Yes. When you are completely in the present, can you show me where the person is? You can show me the body. But most of the time when you're referring to yourself, you're not referring to yourself as a body. You are referring to yourself as a person. ‘I have problems about relationships; I have problems about money’. You see? These are not the body's problems. When you say that ‘This is what my problems are’ then you're referring to the problems of this imagined entity. Actually you can never become this person. You can only imagine yourself to be this person.

You imagine yourself to be this person by believing your thoughts. It is only thoughts which are referring to you as a person. Right now, in this moment, you are not a person. You are just the witness of all this which is appearing and going. You are the witness of these words. You're just the witness, and this witness is not a person. It is actually not a thing at all. In this very moment, if you don't pick up thought, then you cannot become a person. This is the non-person-hood that you are asking for. It is already available in this very moment.

Just don't believe your next thought. This is the simplest pointing I have given all of you. And this pointing is enough.

A BLESSING

[Silence]

May none of you leave this satsang today with the belief that you are bound. May none of you also leave this satsang today with the belief that you are free. May you be empty of all beliefs. May you be free from all concepts.

May you be the Pure Space in which all is allowed to come and go. Yet you are completely untouched by any movement.

May none of the stories appeal to you now. May all identity be burnt in the fire of satsang. May you see now that no thought is true.

May Grace open your eyes to your true Self.

Om Namah Shivaya.

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

[Namaste]

ABOUT MONEY

Today I feel to talk a little bit about money. It can be sticky for many of us. What it is about money that makes it so sticky?

Money actually, I feel, gets correlated with two different things. The first thing it gets correlated with, which is very primal, is a sense of security. The feeling is that if there is enough money, then there will be a sense of security. On the flip side, it can feel like if there is not enough money, then there is not enough security. The feeling of wanting security or feeling secure is something that is very primal to most human beings. That's why money seems to become important.

As this sense of personhood is now dissolving, and as the sense of separation is now going, you will all see that this being secure, or the sense of insecurity from the lack of money or anything at all will start to fade away. What is it that we need to secure? What is it that we need to defend? We have seen that this one that needed defending, that needed security, just does not exist. So find out: what needs to be secured; what needs to be defended?

The second is this feeling that money seems to be the way to keep count of how well we are doing in this phenomenal world. Again, it comes from the root of the person concept. The person wants to do well, and it wants to do better and better. The person wants to become something. That is why, in the eyes of the world, when a person has money they say that he has become something. But if you were to go and ask that person, he would say that ‘I still have a long way to go’ because no amount of money is ever enough for most people.

If we have to keep count, (which actually there is no reason to), I would much rather we keep account of how peaceful we are, how happy we are, how joyful we are. How much do we smile? If you were to ask most people, they would say ‘I am earning money so that I can be happy’. But happiness is always in the now, joy is always in the now.

So both the reason of trying to provide security to something which does not exist, and as a way of keeping count of how well a person is doing, we see now that the person itself does not exist. Then what are we keeping count about?

So, with this, what is seen? What is seen is not that we must have an aversion towards money. Yesterday also we were talking about this pendulum which goes from desire to aversion. So sometimes when we say ‘Okay, I don't now have a desire for money’ we swing the pendulum too far back and it becomes an aversion towards money. That is why it is good to see that it is not a desire nor an aversion. Because an aversion also is a desire; a desire strongly to not do something or to not have something. So, as with everything else, with money also, be completely neutral. It means nothing to You. If there is lots of it, it means nothing. If there is none of it, it means nothing.

“The money one can still get sticky here, around the primal fear of security. I've been looking at this: ‘Who is it that is afraid? Whose life am I concerned about?’ It's clear that life is taking care. When these financial fears arise, they are in service; they keep me surrendered. There’s a sweetness in this surrender, in not knowing and trusting.”

It's beautiful that all of these opportunities to contemplate come up, because if they were to just keep hiding, we would never know that they exist. Life is such a beautiful teacher that all which needs to be looked at is looked at very easily. We cannot avoid it. The more you hide from something, the more it shows up in front of you. But when you have this trust, trust in the Master, trust in God, then you can say ‘Everything is allowed to come. Everything can come now’.

And in this, sometimes it comes! [Laughs]. So if you're doing it with the expectation that ‘If I say that I trust the Master then none of this will come’ then this is not true. Sometimes if there is a sense of escapism about it, then that escapism is also converted into faith in this process of burning. So very strong things can come. Sometimes when we make a prayer, it is heard immediately, and many strong things can come. But this is the process of development of faith. You see that you are untouched by any of this appearance.

That's why jokingly I say sometimes that a good prayer is to say that ‘I'm open to getting slapped by life. I'm open to life's whacks. If there is something here that can get hurt, then this must be only arrogance, and let it get slapped out of me’. What is real cannot be hurt; what is real cannot be attacked. It does not need any defense.

“Still stickiness here; guilt if too much, fear if too little.”

Very good point. There is a sense of guilt if there is too much money; we feel undeserving. And we also feel fearful; we get insecure about the money. If there's too much money, then people sometimes are even more miserable; about what to do with it, is it safe? Too much is also a problem, too little is also a problem.

But there is no actual problem unless we believe our thought about it; unless it means something to us. The meaning that money gets is only through our belief, and our interest. For some, it might seem like it's a petty topic. ‘Why are we discussing this in satsang when we should actually be talking about the true Self?’ But we discuss it only because there seems to be stickiness around it. Rather than hiding it or denying it, it's good to expose it and be done with it.

If there is any appearance of suffering at all, it is an opportunity to check what desire or what aversion is here; what ‘should’ or ‘should not’ is still here. Some concept must still be alive if there is the appearance of suffering. When we are completely open, not resisting anything, this means that this is a concept-less state. To be in this beautiful, neutral, concept-less state, no suffering will arise. In this way, now suffering also becomes Grace, isn't it? Because it shows us what is still hiding; what still needs to be transcended. In this play, in this game, what still needs to be transcended will show up now very quickly. Whether it is the desire or the aversion, it is just the same thing; two sides of the same coin.

“Although I like to tell myself that I'm not bothered about money, I have noticed there are times when I feel anxious about what will happen when money is involved.”

So, first stop telling yourself anything. Neither this nor that; just let go of all thoughts. Then when the time is right or when it is needed, then the words you hear in satsang will show up for you on their own; from your own Heart all guidance will be made available. We don't have to replace one concept: ‘I need money’ with another concept: ‘I don't want money’. No concept is required here. Just let it all go. Let it be the Master’s problem.

SUPREMELY SIMPLE SATSANG

Supremely Simple: Just don't believe your next thought. It is as simple as that. Nothing else is truly needed. All insights and everything that must come will come.

Once it has been seen, then there is a distance from it. The minute we say that something has been seen, we see that there is a distance between ‘me’ and what is ‘being seen’. It is seen that ‘I am the Awareness itself. I'm the Witnessing of all of this. Although all of this arises within me, it cannot be called ‘me’. At best it can be called ‘a part of me’. It can be called ‘an appearance inside me’. But it does not make it ‘me’ because I am much more glorious’. You are much more glorious than this appearance.

Just be in this Witnessing perspective and all will be allowed to come and go, and you will not be able to identify the ‘you’ which is involved in all of this. Even now, can you find the ‘you’ which is trying? Where is this ‘you’?

Can you try now? Find the one who is trying. Try this now. If this one doesn't exist, then how can this one control anything? All the stories are the stories about this ‘impossible one’. How could it have been that something is separate from God? How would this miracle happen? What magic would separate you from God and make you ‘a separate me’? And without believing your thoughts, you will realize that it never happened.

In any moment that you're checking, looking for yourself, you will never find this ‘me’. You might find some thoughts. You might find some residual feelings or energies where the interpreter comes and says ‘these are yours’ or ‘this is about you’. But it cannot show you where you are. So when it says: ‘This bad feeling is about you’ or ‘This confusion is about you’ or ‘This controlling is about you’ then ask ‘Which you are you talking about?’

You will never find it. When you look for this separate me, you will not find it. The only trouble comes when we just presume it is here. It is always just imagination; always just a presumption. The sun has never risen from the west. Only we're believing the voice which is saying ‘The sun is rising from the west’. That's why I say: supremely simple satsang: Just don't believe your next thought. Trust me, you can do without it.

The trickster has an endless number of tricks up its sleeve. If you keep playing the game, it will keep playing with you. But if you drop it now, as my Master says ‘3-2-1 drop’ and now refuse to pick up the next thought, then no matter how strong the sales-pitch is, no matter how good the audition is, when you don't give it your belief, you are Free now.

With this simple seeing; with this simple understanding, nothing else needs to be done.

The simplicity and innocence that the small children have; there is no future for them. They don't think about the past. They're completely in the moment. When pain comes, they cry. Pain goes away, they stop crying; and forget about the pain also. This momentary living in complete neutrality is very beautiful.

TRY IT AND SEE FOR YOURSELF

Play around with what’s being spoken here. I never say: ‘Just take my word for it’. Just play around with what is being said; experiment with it, contemplate it, and the deepening of trust will happen when we see that this works, when you see that not believing your thoughts removes all the misery from your life instantly.

When you see that it happens like this, then this will lead to the development of a lot of faith. And with this development of faith, then what happens is surrender. When you surrender, then your life is Consciousness’ problem. Then your existence is handed over to Existence. But don't just simply rely on what your mind is interpreting about what is said here. If you do that, then it will be a much more seemingly painful and longer journey. Even the mind will mellow down in the Presence of satsang, but that is the longer way to do it.

It's actually very simple, just to play with it, just to say: ‘Okay, this man in this computer screen seems to be saying ‘Don't believe your next thought’. Can I just try it, since I came to satsang? Okay, this much I can do, isn't it?’

If you're just waiting: ‘Okay, he's saying ‘Don't believe your next thought’ and your next thought is ‘Oh, but how can it be this simple?’ if you buy this thought, then instantly it's over and you're back to presuming yourself to be a person. But if you hear like this: ‘he's saying, ‘Don't believe your next thought’. You can see that the thought is coming and it is going, and if no belief is given, when you do this even for a little while, you will find that so much Peace and Love is here.

Freedom is not for the mind. We're not teaching the mind anything, actually. Freedom is from the mind. It is not for the mind. And freedom from the mind does not mean that it will stop; that thoughts will stop coming. It does not mean that. It only means that they lose their power. They have no meaning for us now.

Don't even track any progress. Don't worry about what is happening, what is showing up: ‘Is there pain here? Is there fear here? Is there peace here? Is there bliss here?’ Just don't even worry about any of this. Don't ‘take your temperature’. You are absolutely fine. It's completely alright to let go of all of this. Even the tracking of spiritual progress is not required. You are already the Self and there is no exam. There is no certificate which I am handing out. You are already my own Self. I know you are completely free.

HOW CAN WE HELP OTHERS?

“Is it possible to help someone who is suffering a lot and very attached to ego?”

Yes. We must become the change we wish to see in them. Mahatma Gandhi had said this: We must become the change we wish to see in the world. So first we must drop all ideas and thoughts about this seeming-another. We must be free about all thoughts about them first; also, be completely empty. In your emptiness, so much auspiciousness, so much blessings and Grace will flow through your very Presence that no words are even required. You might find that words are coming out. But you know that these are not the person's words. These are the words coming from the Satguru in the Heart. So all auspiciousness will flow through your own emptiness.

The best way to heal the suffering in the world is to first heal our own suffering forever; get beyond the reach of any suffering. Like I say, you will lose the ability to suffer now. And with this, all Beings who have the true desire to be free from suffering will come to your Presence. They will come and fall at your feet.

But if there is no openness, then they will not come. Until they are open to the truth, until there is this feeling that ‘I must identify who I really am’, until this openness comes, they might run from you actually. That is okay, it's all part of the game.

THE BIGGEST PRESENT IS PRESENCE

Every moment in satsang, the Presence itself, this Presence itself, is my biggest present for all of you; to bring you to your Presence of your own Self. To see that God lives in your own Heart is my present to you. So I give you this gift of God, and he is always taking care of you. And because God is taking care of you, you must always be happy.

This beautiful sangha is also my own Heart, a beautiful gift from God. You are all so beautiful. I really cannot make out any difference. I cannot make out who is the teacher or who is the taught.

None of the imagined darkness in the world can survive now. In the light of this beautiful sangha, how can any darkness, real or imagined, survive? All darkness is only imagined.

All of you are so amazing. You are my Master’s present to me.

DISSOLVING THE SEEKER IDENTITY

What can convince you that you are not free? One big seeming obstacle on the path seems to be that we start with this perspective that we are bound. This is a perspective which is untrue. Why it is that we continue to identify more with the seeker rather than as Consciousness? Because this seeker we cannot even find, and Consciousness is ever-present. What would we rather associate with first? It would be much better if we start with associating with this Being; and from this Being, then listen to all the knowledge and to read all the scriptures.

Come in satsang as Being itself. What does this mean? It means that the voice that is trying to convince you that you are a person must be kept aside; belief must be withdrawn from this voice. What are you attending satsang as? Are you attending satsang as a seeker, or are you attending satsang as Being itself?

“Identifying as anything other than the seeker would feel like arrogance. But this is just mind-nonsense, isn't it?”

Yes, sort of; because we feel to identify with the seeker. First, can we identify where the seeker is? If you cannot, and even if you have trouble identifying or seeing that this Being is ever-present, then let's come as nothing. Let’s come completely open and empty. We do not need to carry the seeker perspective to find freedom.

If we find the seeker, then we can say ‘Okay, I’ll identify as the seeker and that's how I'm coming to satsang’. But if it cannot be found, then come completely empty. Just the beautiful ‘I don't know’ is also very helpful. Even if you come with the mindset that ‘I don't know what I am. I cannot find what I am’ then it's a simple pointing to find the Being which is ever-present.

The mind will say ‘This is arrogance. Of course you are a seeker’. But you WHO? This ‘you’ does not exist. It's a subtle point, but it's important, because of so much identification with this seeker; so much grasping for the truth, so much neediness to find answers, yet who is this one that is seeking? There is never a seeker.

The seeker of the truth will not find the answer, because the answer will always be that ‘No such seeker existed’. So, if there is a fear to drop the seeker identity because you feel that ‘Without the seeker I will not find the answer’ then it is not true.

In the final stage, it is the seeker identity which is actually getting dissolved. Because if you trust any identity or if you identify with any identity, when our mind's voice comes, it seems to be relevant to this identity. We'll find meaning in that and hence our belief will go to that.

“Dropped ‘the seeker’ but still holding ‘beginner’s mind’ or ‘I know nothing’.”

This ‘holding’ is not a holding. If you're forcing a holding that ‘I know nothing, I know nothing’ then again it is another concept that ‘I know nothing’. Once we have withdrawn our belief from thoughts, then this ‘I know nothing’ is automatic: ‘I know nothing that is from intellect, I know nothing that is just knowledge, just conceptual’. Then true knowledge emerges from this ‘not knowing’ which is to see that Being is here now. To see that Being is here now is not an intellectual knowing, is not a conceptual knowing.

This is the true knowledge of the Self. To see that ‘I am aware now’ is the true knowing of the Self. But it is not an intellectual knowing. We can still say ‘I know nothing’. I can say ‘I know nothing’ but in another way I can say ‘I know that I cannot be anything but this Awareness itself. It has been seen, it has been confirmed. There can be no doubts left now’.

“There was a feeling of disorientation recently as I couldn't find the seeker itself, in which I escaped and hid and enjoyed a lot.”

It becomes a comfort-zone; it becomes very comfortable that ‘I am the seeker. I am a spiritual seeker’. Also, there's a sense of specialness about it, you see? The specialness comes. Now that we cannot even find the seeker, it can feel like it's a bit disorienting. But if we can manage even this little bit of discomfort, then we will see that this is your final step to freedom. No identity now remains.

Very beautiful to hear that now even this seeker identity is dissolving. Most other identities get replaced by another identity. This identity, when it is going, can either get replaced with nothing at all, pure emptiness, just a remnant of the burnt rope; or it gets replaced by the spiritual ego. If you stay in satsang, it will not happen that you end up as a spiritual ego. You will keep dropping that head over and over.

“If the Consciousness is One, then why / how is it able to have so many viewpoints?”

The light of the movie projector is one; one light, one source, or whatever is the source of this light; One Consciousness is like this. But so many characters get projected. When you have a dream, are there not so many people in the dream? All these people are coming up in the light of your own Consciousness. Where do all these viewpoints in the dream come from? It comes from your Being, isn't it? We're able to see it as reality when we talk about the dream state. But we're not able to see it as reality when we talk about it as the waking state. Actually there is no difference between dream state and waking state. We could be having this satsang in a dream, and you could wake up now and say ‘I had such a strange dream and Ananta was talking about dreams’.

It's okay, even if this seems completely real. If this phenomenal world seems completely real, even that is fine. I'm not arguing about that. But in this phenomenal world also we cannot find a ‘person’. So when we talk about viewpoints of the person, can we find any person? It just does not exist. All of us are dream-characters which are appearing for You; just a projection of your own Consciousness.

The person wants to become the center of the Universe. All the personal desires and all the personal motives are to become more and more special so that the ego becomes the center of the Universe. It is only trying to replicate what is reality. It is only a false replica of reality. Reality is that You, your True Self, is where the whole Universe arises. It is all about You.

We don't have to force these insights. Because what we are talking about now is way beyond the mind. But all these insights will become clearer and clearer to you in your true intuitive understanding of what is going on. It's not all about you-as-a-person. But it is all about You-as-Consciousness, as Awareness.

“This should be a quote: ‘It's all about You actually; just not you as a person’.”

NO SPECIALNESS

Every thought is actually an offer. It is offering you some meaning. We feel that some meaning will come from these offers. But no meaning is actually to be found in these. That is why it is very beautiful to surrender it. It's trying to pretend to be useful so we stay addicted to this drug of thoughts. It is offering the feeling of feeling special. We believe it because we feel like it is something which will be useful and it will make me special.

All identities inherently come with a sense of specialness, with a sense of separation. It's good to be vigilant and to see whether now I've picked up another identity; even a glorious identity like ‘a Self-realized soul’ or something like that. No need to associate, or identify with any identity now. Be completely free.

WHO WANTS TO KNOW THAT ‘IT IS DONE’?

“What keeps us from knowing ‘It is done’? There is an idea here that it's better to be vulnerable, open, ‘still not done’.”

In this also, there seems to be the sense that there is someone who is living life; someone who is living life in a certain way. Someone who is living life in the ‘seeker’ way or someone who is living life in the ‘It is done’ way. Realize that there is no separate one who is living life. Then it is seen that there is nothing to be done, because I was never the doer anyway. No person can live a life, because no person has existed. Then we see that life is living itself.

Nothing keeps it from you because now you're letting go of all the belief in thought. It can be said that ‘Only if there is belief in thought, then there will be this doubt that it is done or not done’. It is belief, or this imagination and this belief that we are the impossible one. When this ‘It is done’ also becomes meaningless or ‘left undone’ becomes meaningless, then it is seen that ‘I am only ever the Self’.

This perspective that ‘I must live in a certain way’ will also go. Every moment will be lived fresh; on its own, with no concern about the outcome. When we see that life is living completely fresh in the moment, then how can there be any fear of outcome? The only one who needs to be dropped is this one who believes that life can be done in a certain way.

“There cannot be fear?”

There can be fear as an appearance. But it cannot be ‘my fear’. All emotions are now free to come, just like all thoughts are now free to come and go. Emotions feel like they are here, and they seem to stay a little longer than thoughts. We're not to resist them; we're not to push them or push them to go away. So, momentarily, some fear can arise, and it might even stay sometimes, but you know it is not about You so then you will not buy the interpretation about it. You will say ‘I will not buy these offers’. You will not say ‘Oh, I must not be really free. I must be only pretending because fear is still coming’. All this is the nonsense which will be dropped. But all emotions can come.

“Sadness is rain, reaction is lightening, thunder is anger; all pass. Sky is always here.”

The sky is untouched by any of this. This is beautiful; that the sky is always untouched, no matter which cloud is passing through. No matter which thoughts are coming and going, which appearance is coming and going, Awareness remains forever untouched and free; just like the sky or space is untouched by any of these appearances.

“Sky is truly always here, so nothing coming or going determines freedom. Throwing the idea ‘Freedom means that the sky should always be clear sky’ into the fire.”

None of these appearances determine freedom, absolutely. That ‘Freedom means only clear skies’ is a trap that many fall into. Don't expect freedom only to be clear skies. Allow all clouds to come: that is freedom. Knowing that you are untouched. That's why we say that ‘Freedom is not a state’. Freedom is the allowing of all states to arise and go, without getting attached to any of them

For a long time, as a seeker, we keep looking for progress. We keep looking for what’s appearing and what’s not appearing. We keep measuring how much peace or bliss is here, or how much anger and resentment came. Now we have dropped the thermometer also. Then only the present, fresh, is here. No concern for anything at all.

It's not just about the words. I'm not concerned so much about the contents of the words, but I can smell where They're coming from. Now your words come from this Presence, this Being. That's what makes it so beautiful for me. It doesn't matter whether it's great English, or like Shakespeare, or it's very, very normal, regular language; even bad grammar I don't mind. But I can smell the sense of Being, the Presence of Being in all your words, which is very beautiful.

“A thought-energy comes, then there is the habit to label them, so as not to believe it.”

See, you're capturing all the subtle tendencies now. We have this habit to label them and say ‘Now I want to let go of my angry thought. Now I want to let go of my resentment. Now I want to let go of my feeling left out’. All this we have this habit of labeling, and then saying ‘Okay, now I'm letting go of this’. But we see that the labeling itself was a needless step; and the labeling itself gives it some meaning. It is good to see this habit.

AWARENESS BEING AWARE OF AWARENESS

“The thought comes and is believed in that ‘I don't know what Awareness is, and need to be stable in it’. All nonsense, yet hooks the seeker identity.”

I will show you what Awareness is right now; or actually, you will show yourself what Awareness is right now. But don't expect to see something phenomenal. It is not an object which you will see. If you want to show yourself what Awareness is right now, then I ask you this question: Are you aware now?

I know what your answer will be. Unless you hand over the question to your mind, your answer will always be ‘Yes. I am completely aware now’.

So it is seen very clearly by you that Awareness is here.

This is Awareness being aware of Awareness.

This is the simplest way: Awareness Being Awareness.

The mind will say ‘I did not see anything at all’. But if you did not see anything at all, then why did you confirm ‘Yes’? It is clear; the answer is really clear to you that ‘Awareness is here. I am aware now’. The mind is expecting to see an object, but Awareness is not an object.

Being itself; this Being that you cannot stop. This Presence is the first phenomenon which can be perceived or witnessed by Awareness itself. So That, which knows even this Being, is Awareness.

You say: ‘I need to be stable in Awareness’. Actually, you cannot be moved from it. So the hard work would be not to be stable in it. [Laughs]. You can never not be this Awareness. You can never become anything else, even if you tried your hardest; even if you tried your hardest to be unstable as Awareness. To ‘be stable in it’ only means that You are always This; to confirm that You are always This. It is not a ‘doing’. It is just a ‘seeing’.

Can any of you become a person and show me? Stop being aware. Stop awareness for a minute, and just become the body and show me; or become the imagined person and show me. Stop now. Can you do it? This Awareness is what you are; it cannot be stopped. It is the Eternal One.

CONSCIOUSNESS SPEAKING WITH CONSCIOUSNESS

In Satsang it is Being which is speaking to Being. Consciousness speaks to Consciousness. Actually every time that any communication is happening, it is between Consciousness alone. But this communication in satsang is still little different because it is not with the pretense of being a person. There is no pretense of a person speaking from here. There is no pretense of a person hearing on the other side. This is satsang. No other communication, or rare communication, can happen in the world without this pretense. Most of the communication we are referring to each other as people, as egos, as separate individuals. So just in this much itself, it is great power to have the opportunity to commune like this, as Consciousness Itself; without referring to each other as people and mostly without referring to our personal issues. This is very powerful.

It is true that in the first satsang, for the new one who comes into satsang, it can seem like a person has come into satsang. But very soon this person starts to dissolve; and sometimes it is a stir fry and sometimes it is a slow boil. Therefore sometimes there are strong reactions coming from personhood even within satsang, and other times the person just gently seems to melt away.

So when this person, this belief, starts to melt (and now for most of you it is completely dissolving), what remains? As the personal identity is dissolving, what remains now?

“Just ‘Isness’ remains.”

“Pure Being.”

“Only You remains.”

Yes. Only You remains; the Satguru in the Heart remains as your own Self. It is seen that the person is never here anyway. The personal identity could have seemed so strong; and now we really start to wonder what all the fuss was about.

If the person was ever real then my task in satsang would not be as easy as it is. My job is very, very simple; it is only to ask you to look. Look at what is real right now. That's why I say if there is a little bit of openness and this looking happens, then you cannot miss it. You are It. How can you miss it? You cannot miss your own Self.

The world’s idea, the minds idea, the ego’s plan as the interpreter, is to provide you a commentary on everything that is going on. Most of us don't see the world fresh, we see it through the eyes of this interpreter who always sees separation alone. It actually invents separation where none exists. Therefore the real question is: ‘What is true right now?’ Not what the commentator is saying.

It is only in satsang that we have this kind of conversation. In all other cases, everyone is expecting the response from a mind. They are always saying: ‘What do you think about this?’ So we're living in this world of interpretations; living as the interpreter itself.

But who is the mind speaking to? Who are your thoughts referring to you as? Does this one exist? It's actually very simple, isn't it?

You as a separate ‘you’ just do not exist. It is as simple as that. Then if you say ‘But I am here’ this is very good. When I say ‘You do not exist’ then you could say ‘But I am here’. What is this that is here? Let’s find out this one. Who is this one that is here?

DON'T USE ANY STATE AS A POINTER TO FREEDOM

On this path it seems like we have gotten used to constantly evaluating the states in which we are in; to ‘taking our temperature’. Let all these states come and go. Let all that is happening, happen. Don't use any state as a pointer to your freedom, because if you rely on a state to find your freedom, then when this state goes, like all states must go; then you again start believing that you're not free. You see?

So we can also drop this thermometer now, so we're not constantly checking up on what is appearing. We're also not labeling what is appearing. It is another way in which the mind will keep us involved, because the mind starts interpreting your so-called spiritual progress also and this still seems meaningful to the seeker.

But I will not leave you even with this. Even this you will let go of, because it is just not freedom to be constantly concerned about which state is appearing. It is just not freedom. It is just another way for the mind to say that ‘You are almost there’ or ‘You're not there’ or ‘You were there and you're losing it again’. So don't buy any interpretation of the states which are appearing as well. Don't label them even as good or bad.

“Let all that is happening, happen.”

Real subtle tricks of the mind, isn't it? ‘Now this one has lost all interest in everything else so let's keep giving them a report of how I'm progressing spiritually’. We buy our spiritual stories now. So don't be so quick to buy your stories, even if they are spiritual.

SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

“It's complicated because there is a memory of what ‘essential nature’ felt like, which is complete joy and non-existence, yet ‘I still am’.”

This is the trouble with spiritual experiences; and that's why we don't focus so much on spiritual experiences because we start to relate that state, the spiritual experience state, as the freedom state, but this is not true. All experiences, all states are coming and going, but inside what are they coming and going?

They are all arising inside You and going inside You. This One who witnesses this state which you call the essential nature, and the one that witnesses the state which you call the person state; is the witness of either of these states touched by any state? The One Witnessing, is that touched also? This you must see. Then you must see whether there is any distance between you and this witnessing. Are you in what is being witnessed or are you in the witnessing itself?

This contemplation you must do. When this contemplation is done you will find that you are untouched by any state no matter how beautiful or sublime it is. You will be untouched. You are never that. You are always here. You're never an appearance, no matter how beautiful it is. This witnessing of this sublime state, as well as the person state; this witnessing is what You Are. You see?

NOW THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD

“It seems like it's been a habit to believe what the thought says, be it spirituality or anything else. Now in this silence, it is crying for more attention.”

Now the rubber is really hitting the road for you, isn't it? Because there might have been a time not so long ago where you would have said ‘I understand all of this; I got it’. Now you see that there is nothing to get. And in this silence of nothing to get, no lack, no need, then very gently you can see what is really going on. All these tricks will be seen very clearly now. And with no effort to try and get something, all of this will unfold for you. There can be no spiritual ego now with this. Let the mind try as much as it wants. Don't be so compassionate towards the mind. Stand your ground. Say ‘Let’s see what happens’.

LET EVERYTHING UNFOLD

“Yesterday I had a tantrum. It came and went just like a child’s. There was no holding onto it afterwards, although there was thought in the background. The only which was a bit sticky was now this [other] person feels there is a problem between us. How do I approach them next time I see them?”

You had a tantrum with another person and now there is a ‘person’ here which feels like something has gone wrong in the relationship and ‘How do I plan the next meeting? What is going to happen?’ There’s a fear about it, or there's a need to fix it in some way. It can get very complicated if we were to deal with issues at this level, at a personal level. ‘What should I say? What should I have done or not done? What can I say now? Should I apologize? Should I not apologize?’ All these questions can come.

That is why we have dropped all this complexity now. You know what I'm going to say next [Laughing] because we have dropped all this complexity. What we have said is ‘Just don't believe your next thought’ and then let everything unfold as it should. You might find your mouth saying completely the opposite; and it is all completely fine. It is the guilt or the planning for the future which is more mentally tiring and mentally stressful, isn't it? As it is, it is going to unfold in exactly the way it is meant to.

All this thinking is needless. See that it can just be let go of. These kinds of things can be sticky. When we say ‘Don't believe them’ they seem to come back again. And if this is something really sticky and it keeps coming back then it gives you a lot of fodder for inquiry: ‘What is it that is so worried about this relationship? Which identity still exists here? Which identity am I carrying about myself still that I don't even have the freedom to throw a tantrum? Is there some fear of how I will be perceived?’

It gives us so much fodder for beautiful transcending and Self-inquiry. So we can be grateful even for this. Although when I say this, sometimes I know the feeling might come that ‘This is crazy. It was such an unpleasant event, how can he say be grateful even for this?’ Be grateful because it is first an opportunity to see that something like this still is here, and then an opportunity to let it go, to let it get released.

Don't plan anything at all. The mind will say that ‘If I don't plan then it will be a static state; it will be a state of limbo. I will not do anything if I do not plan’. This may be what the mind is saying. But this is not true. There is actually no linkage even between thought and action. You will see that very spontaneously, very automatically something will unfold. Nothing will be left unresolved. Just don't need to rely on your thoughts for anything. It doesn't matter what conclusion you come up with in thought.

Even if you were to say that ‘What should I do now?’ and you get some guidance that you must decide now to apologize, that means nothing; because what will unfold in the moment when you are together will just happen on its own anyway. Many times we decide that we will apologize and instead we go and shout at that person more, isn't it? Many times we decide to get angry with someone and then when we are in their Presence we find that we have said ‘Sorry’.

All of this is happening on its own. It has nothing to do with you except that it is appearing as a movie for you. You are not a character in this movie. Any time you try to play the role of the character then it is bound to come with its suffering, because the life of a movie character is very difficult. It is much easier to just watch the movie.

All actions can unfold in their beautiful innocence. We're not to believe the interpreter about these actions also, you see. To not believe the next thought does not mean that we force ourselves to be in some limbo state or we get into this constant state of samadhi with no action. When you let go or you don't believe your next thought, internally you will see that you are in Samadhi, but outwardly all the actions could still happen or the words could still be expressed. It is not about renouncing any action at all.

Let everything just come and go. Like the words in this satsang are flowing on their own; there is no preparation, there is no deciding that something will be said or not said. There is no preconception that a particular question will be answered in this way. There is just a trust that That which that is doing all of this knows what it is doing. Being does not need to rely on thought, everything can flow.

NATURAL IN ANY SITUATION

“Throwing this into the fire of satsang; that I have to pretend to be a ‘person’ even though there is no belief in personhood.”

You don't have to pretend to be a person. The Self knows exactly how to behave in any situation. No pretense is required here, no pretending even to be some awakened person. Just let everything flow moment-to-moment. There are no ground rules for the Awake One. There is no code of conduct. But it is seen that all that will flow is completely auspicious. So, no guilt, no resentment, no pride, no fear; just a simple sober Being, pure innocence of Being.

All will be burned in the fire of satsang. All that is untrue will be exposed and will be left behind here. Just keep showing up in satsang and you will see that none of this will be left behind.

Chapter 6

It Is All Grace

COME TO THIS HEART

All that is happening is just a happening. We must drop the idea that ‘Something is happening to me’. Nothing is happening to you. Nothing can happen to you. Just like the space is unaffected by what is appears inside the space, you are that Witnessing which is unaffected by all appearances; by any appearance. Any time we say that ‘Something is happening to me’ it is not true actually. Nothing has ever happened to you. At best we can say that something is arising here; arising within me or in front of me. But nothing, nothing, nothing has ever happened to you.

Not even enlightenment is happening to you. Freedom cannot happen to you. Because for freedom to happen to you it must be possible for you to be bound first. Even freedom is not happening to you. Nothing has ever happened actually. Knowing that nothing has ever happened, we can now stop waiting for things to happen. Stop waiting for things to confirm that you are free.

What is the event that will confirm your freedom? Whose testimony are you waiting for? If we keep waiting for the mind's testimony, it is never going to come; and even if it does come it would be only with the perspective to set you up for failure. It will only build up the spiritual ego and set it up for failure, set it up for more suffering.

No waiting for any events now. No waiting for any confirmation. If we are still waiting for something, at least can we define it; at least can we say that ‘This must happen and then I know that I am completely free’ What is that ‘this'? What is it that needs to happen to confirm your freedom?

Can we even identify one who is bound? If we cannot identify the one that was bound then we can see that what is here is completely free. Free beyond the concept of freedom. Beyond the idea of freedom. If all we have is an idea of freedom, an image of freedom, then that image will also be dropped first. Freedom will not confirm an image of freedom. It will confirm that it is image-less. You are image-less.

“I cannot write anything today because there are too many ‘buts’.”

These ‘buts’ can come. Doubt can keep coming. But how can your belief go to them without your permission? It needs your approval to make yourself suffer, or at least imagine to suffer. Then giving your belief to doubt, giving your belief to thought, you are giving this approval for suffering. It's just like saying that you get a request, you know, and it says that ‘You listen to me and you will suffer’. And you say ‘approved’ by giving it your belief.

So actually both sides of the coin are true. You cannot suffer without believing a thought; and cannot NOT suffer without believing a thought. Because a thought means resistance to ‘what is’. ‘What is’ does not rely on thoughts. Right now, are you relying on a thought? Which thought do you need?

“No thought is needed to Be.”

Is there a lack in Being? Is there any lack in Being? If there is no thought needed to Be, and there is no lack in Being, then why rely on thoughts? Which are the special ones? Which are the ones which you still believe have some meaning? You will see that all of them have no meaning.

“No lacks. Being is being, is complete.”

Then when a doubt comes, what is the value in that? Why do we give it our belief? This is great contemplation, isn't it?

“I don't know where these words come from. It is a sort of knowing without anyone to know this.”

There is nobody here. We're expecting some words to come from an entity, and for your Self to identify the entity from where they are coming. But all that I have been trying to say for so long is that: ‘There is no separate entity. It is all one Being. It is all one Seeing’.

The point of the looking is simple, isn't it? We look and we see that there is no entity there and we see that there's just this one Being, the Presence of which is ever-present in the heart; and even this is ultimately witnessed by the Absolute, by the Self.

Then how can I be this appearance which is arising? I am That, this Witnessing of all of this appearance. It is clearly seen. The only problem seems to be that it is too simple.

We say that ‘This ‘I’ is dissolving’ but actually what it means is that we see that it is not there, and we stop operating from that perspective. That is the meaning of dissolving.

“YES! That is in fact the problem, it is so simple.”

This problem is again a problem only for the mind. As with all problems, the problem is only with the mind. Without your head, can you show me a problem? What problem can you have without your head? How long will you listen to the doubt? How long will you continue to say that ‘I know what you say is true'? How long will you say that ‘I know what you say is true but, but, but…'?

“No problems. It is not a problem. All this searching and looking for freedom; it was always right here.”

How does one find something that is always right here? It's like trying to find your Self.

“So many paradoxes for the mind. There is no one to find, and nothing to be found.”

You see, if I was to try and teach the mind, if my job was to teach the mind, then it would be much more difficult. I would actually give up. Because what is being spoken to here is beyond the mind, is prior to mind. If we are waiting for mind to be convinced, then it is something which is going to last a very, very long time. Because it is the job of the mind to be unconvinced, to be separate. You see?

As long as you don't consider yourself to be just the mind then I don't have to worry. Because all that satsang is trying to say is that: ‘You are not this. The mind is just some energy which is arising within You. It is not You. It is not Your voice also. Why would you need a voice to communicate with your own Self?’

“Please talk a little about not making any pictures of how freedom looks like.”

The painting of pictures is just the mind's way of trying to be an ally on this search. The mind knows you want freedom now. So it tries to bring you freedom in its own way. It sets conditions and expectations. It will say things like ‘When you stop getting angry, when you stop having desire, then you know that you are free'…., knowing fully well that it is only setting you up for failure.

It will never say ‘You are free NOW. Let all that needs to appear appear’. It means expectations, conditions, the ‘state', getting attached to particular states. This is one way in which the mind makes pictures.

There is another way in which the mind makes pictures. When the mind hears terms like ‘Being’ it will paint a picture of Being for you. It could paint a picture of just pure space or white light. When it hears ‘Awareness’ it will paint this big space of black nothingness. But it is not in what is seen. Even this image is not it. It is always the Witnessing alone. The Awareness of this image also is what You are.

“There is no effort to be doing anything. Will there be a time I will need to push myself to do something?”

No! [Soft laugh] When you say ‘push myself’ you're inventing a doer entity and another entity which can be pushed; one that can do the pushing and one that can get pushed. Both of these are fictional. None of this game is needed.

“In terms of work; as I have nothing I feel to do. No fear, but maybe doubt.”

Trust what is happening to you. You are in Moojiji's heart. All is taken care of. And when something is meant to happen, He will provide the energy also for it to happen. The One whose will this is, is the One who's giving the energy also. It is all His will. Let Thy will be done. Actually surrender is only the seeing that it is only His will that can be done.

So without sounding like the Advaita police, I would just say that ‘Who would push who to do what?’ [Laughing] You see? Don't let any event that is occurring convince you that you are a person.

“Something tries to get clarity.”

Now it is seen that no clarity can come from any belief in thought. Why do we believe thoughts? Because we feel we will get some meaning, some value, maybe some clarity out of it. That is what the thoughts are selling. Actually clarity comes from the dropping of these. We have seen this now.

Grace is doing everything. It knows what to do. We used to say ‘The Universe knows what it is doing’. It makes no mistakes and it has perfect timing; no matter what we might believe to the contrary. What you are right now is what you are.

“All I can feel and know for certain is that trust is stronger than doubt. My heart is now stronger than my mind.”

Doubt will lose all meaning for you. It will not last. Already most of it is gone. Now as you refuse to pick it up, it will die for lack of attention. It's like a plant that we need to water, we need to provide soil, without which it does not grow. We need to give it air and sunlight, without which a plant cannot grow. In the same way our thoughts, our doubts, without our attention and belief, they will not grow. They will just shrivel up and die now.

All of you just remember these words: Always come to satsang. If you come to satsang, the trickster cannot win. Otherwise it will play all its tricks. It will say all kinds of nonsense. But I know what is true here is true everywhere. Without satsang, I would be completely lost. I'm so grateful that Grace brought me to satsang with my Master. So, no matter what the mind is saying, no matter how convincing it is, no matter which feelings are coming: just always be in satsang. Especially when the feeling is the opposite! This is trust. The Teacher has said ‘Always come to satsang’ no matter what resistance is coming.

Stop being interested in the state all the time. We are not a state. We cannot be measured by our state. It is not about whether there is bliss or joy or whether there is any other state. Drop all concerns for which states are coming. Let that be also my concern. Then what stays?

Nothing will be left. All will be cleared in satsang. All will get burnt up in the Presence of satsang. What is seen is that this mind then becomes the Universal Mind. When we drop the person idea, then this mind itself merges into Consciousness itself.

ALL QUESTIONS DISSOLVE IN THIS

What is an attachment? An attachment is something in the appearance which we call ‘mine’. The attempt here is always to make it as simple as possible. Looking at an attachment, what can it be? It must be a phenomenal appearance which we are calling ‘mine’. It must be a phenomenal appearance which we are claiming some ownership over.

These appearances which we call ‘mine’ and which we claim ownership over are our attachments. Can there be an attachment to something which is not an appearance? Contemplate this. What could you be attached to which is not an appearance?

“Attachment to satsang.”

Yes. But now you will find that satsang is being in the Presence of your own Being, and you will not use the term ‘attachment’ to Being, because Being is prior to any attachment. Okay, let me say that again: You will not use attachment to Being, because Being is the ever-present One. Being is prior to all arrivals. What will happen is that you will find that satsang is your own true nature. If you are referring to this physical format of satsang, this coming to satsang, then wait for all other attachments to drop.

The mind is very quick to latch on to an opportunity. It is very quick to latch on to the opportunity and say ‘See, you are attached to satsang’. First, lose attachment to this voice which is saying ‘See your attachment to satsang’.

“Attachment to Consciousness or to Being.”

There can be no attachment to Being. There is no one who can attach to Being. There is nothing which can call Being ‘mine’. Find out this one. This is very good. Can you find out this one, who can call Being ‘mine’? When we say ‘my Being’ who must this be? Who can even say Being is mine? Who must this be?

Attachment means that there is the fear of losing something. When we call something ‘mine’ then inherent in that is the fear of losing it. Can there be a fear of losing Being? No. You cannot lose Being even if you tried.

But what appears in the light of Being, if we call any of that ‘mine’ then we are setting up for trouble. Because what is appearing in the light of Being will get dissolved also in the light of Being. No appearance will stay. If you know that no appearance will stay, then why get attached to it? Is it not building up to future suffering?

Therefore, the beautiful line ‘This too shall pass’ is not just for the bad times. We usually use this line when times are bad, isn't it? When strong appearances are showing up and we say that times are bad, to give ourselves consolation we say ‘This too shall pass’. It is true; everything that has come will pass. We don't have to say it verbally like this, but this must be the attitude, that whatever is appearing will pass. In this, there is freedom.

Any time we have labeled something ‘mine’ we have built up causes for suffering. What, in the appearance, can we call ‘mine’ which will not pass?

“No attachment without object. Object is attached to object.”

Is there really an object which is attached? Is it really an object which is attached, or is it more a concept? The concept of ‘me’ is attached to an object. You see? Ultimately, if you are saying that all these appearances are also concepts, then that is fine. That is why I say that even in the phenomenal, objective reality this ‘me’ does not exist. That's what makes it very easy. If there was a real ‘me’ in the phenomenal, objective reality then we would have some trouble dispelling it. We have no trouble dispelling the concept of ‘me’ because we cannot find it in the phenomenal reality also.

It is only the ‘imaginary one’. It is only a concept which is attached to an object. This is a very nice definition of attachment. An attachment only is this impossible one, this imagined one; this one, this concept, which is attached to an object.

On both sides of the equation, what do we find? On one side of the equation we find something which just never existed; the ‘me’. This is on one side of the equation. Then we say ‘attached to’. We say ‘object’. You see? Phenomenal appearance; internal object or external object. And we know that phenomenal experiences cannot stay. So, on one side it is the impossible one, the non-existent one; and the other one is the one which will fade in time, no matter what it is. Are you starting to see now how funny all of this is? On neither side of this equation of attachment is there anything real, is there anything tangible, is there anything timeless.

“Mind has been saying ‘Too much attachment to Mooji songs’ but no belief is given. The Heart totally drowns in the music.”

My Master says this very beautifully; he says that ‘There is no trouble in being attached to an unattached one’. If you find yourself in the Presence of the unattached One, then you can get attached to this unattached One, because the unattached One will never encourage personal attachment. He will drown out even this attachment. So if you find some strong attachment to the Master, let it stay, and know that even this is his problem to sort out. This is very good.

“Recently I was scared of terminal illness, and was scared of extinction.”

There are these strong appearances of illnesses in the instrument called the body. It will lead to a stronger realization that it was never You. It was only ever another appearance, which is your innocent instrument. And even if this body was to go, know that You will be there as the Witness of it. To say that ‘The body went’ must also require Awareness, isn't it?

You will experience the giving up of this body. You will experience maybe even the dissolution of this entire Universe, and the creation of the next Universe, and the next one. Actually, every night in our dream, we experience the creation of a new Universe; which in the dream state can last for many lifetimes which we can have in that Universe. And then, when we wake up, it is all gone. You see? It is natural, in some sense, when the dream is on, for there to be some attachment to the dream body. But it is unheard of by someone who wakes up to say that ‘I'm very attached to that dream body which was here, and I was witnessing it just a few minutes ago’.

“Not possible to lose Being.”

“Felt fine to let everything go; even the body and all experiencing.”

Yes. So when you talk of experiencing, you're talking of phenomenal experiencing through the body, isn't it? And it's completely fine to let it go. But the ultimate experiencing, the ultimate Witnessing, is what You are; this Awareness which can never be let go of.

“Have attachment to offspring and his challenges; juice in this thought causes suffering.”

You see, with our children, with offspring, we have seen that it is a very primal relationship. Even animals have this attachment, we can say. If there is one attachment they have, it is this attachment. A small animal is willing to fight with a lion or an elephant to save its offspring. So this is very natural for it to come. But as you see that you are now burning up all beliefs in concepts in the fire of satsang, you will find that nothing needs to be done. It is the Self Itself which is playing the role of Mother also, so no thoughts need to be relied upon to be a beautiful Mother.

There is no such thing as a perfect parent. There is no perfection in this phenomenal world. Just know that it is not about perfection. When you let go, when Being is operating through you, then know that all is auspicious. So if your definition of perfection is ‘auspicious’ then know that everything already is auspicious. But if your definition of perfection is according to the mind's definition, then that can never play out. God is never that unkind to play out all the desires of our mind; because then we would forever be lost.

“For attachment, it always needs two.”

Yes. There always has to be another. Even if we were to say that ‘I am attached to my Being’ we have created a two-ness there, isn't it? This is a very good point; for there to be attachment, there must be two.

“Totally attached to you, Father.”

This is an attachment to your own true Satguru in your Heart, and this One will burn all other worldly attachments. No attachments, no grievances, no resentment; all will flow on its own, and you’ll remain as the witness of all of this.

“I heard Mooji say ‘When the body drops, you will be there to witness it’. You said it.”

Yes. The eternal One will outlast this body, just as it has outlasted millions of bodies already. The Universe is your own body. The Universe is the body of this Being. And even this Universe will dissolve. No phenomenon can stay.

So the message stays very simple: Don't call anything in the appearance ‘me’ or ‘mine’. Before the ‘mine’ there must be a ‘me’ and this ‘me’ cannot be found. If the ‘me’ cannot be found, how can there be a ‘mine’? All that we can call ‘mine’ is going anyway.

Everything shall pass.

Find that which cannot go.

Find the unchanging One.

Find the unmoving One.

What is Eternal now?

Who is looking from behind your eyes?

Is this one changing?

Does this one have any attachments?

Don't go along with this voice in your head.

This voice in your head is always leading only to separation and attachment.

Who watches these thoughts coming and going?

Who watches the coming and going of all emotions?

Don't settle for any labels. Don't settle for any answers.

Who is looking through your eyes?

Be open to this question, and what you will find is not a person; it is the Supreme One. Right now this is true. I'm not giving you any practice. Right now you can check for who is looking from behind your eyes.

Who observes your breath?

As the breath is going up and down, who witnesses this?

Who can sense the beating of your own heart?

Who witnesses the appearance of any emotion?

Who sees all your memories?

Can you find a person here? Or do you witness just pure Being?

And if it is only pure Being which is witnessed as your own Self, even then we ask:

What is witnessing even this?

Who can experience the Presence and absence of Being also?

Who experiences sleep and waking up?

Who watches the birth of time?

You are that in which a trillion Universes come and go in every instant.

You decided to play as a person in your own imagination.

Now you say that you have had enough of this.

You say you have had enough of this imagination, of this play.

Then you must Stop.

Just Stop completely right now.

Stop giving reality to the unreal through the power of your own belief.

Enough of this game. Come back home now.

Enough of this game. Come home with me now.

Home is already right here.

Then you can say that ‘I never left’.

Stop giving attention to time and space.

If that seems difficult, at least withdraw your belief from it.

May you always stay in this realization of your True Self.

May no play ever bind you now.

May all leelas come and go in the realization that you are untouched by any of this.

This unmoving state of Samadhi is your own natural state.

And all movements arise and dissolve within this.

Stay here. All questions dissolve in this.

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

[Namaste]

WASHING MACHINE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

“Ananta, this trickster mind says ‘This Awakening will never happen to you; you don't have what it takes’.”

Awakening will never happen to anyone. We can only say that ‘Awakening happened’ as a matter of conversation. Don't worry about Awakening. What do you mean by ‘Awakening’? Can Awareness ever stop? Can Awareness ever fall asleep? Are you Awake right now? Are you Witnessing right now? This Awareness is what you are and it cannot leave. Even in sleep state it exists. It doesn't leave you.

Whose Awakening are you talking about? Only in conversation, especially with those who are new to satsang, we can say that ‘You are going towards the process of Awakening’. But Awakening is just the simple realization that ‘I have always been Awake’. So who is the mind speaking to? Who is this conversation being had with?

I just saw a cartoon on Facebook recently. It said ‘I am always talking to myself because I need the expert advice’. Who is this expert who can predict what will happen to you? Can you answer either side of the equation: who is speaking, and who is being spoken to?

“Awareness will never sleep. Mind is speaking to the ghost-person. By ‘Awakening’ I mean getting rid of this ghost.”

Okay. Where is this ghost? You see that it does not exist. Just because you pretend to be something doesn't make it real.

“No-one speaks to no-one, actually. It is just thinking arising.”

Simple as that. All your buttons it will try and push; and some you will just be able to withdraw belief from. But this one might have some juice for you, the Awakening concept. If it has some juice for you, examine it. Find out: What is this Awakening you are looking for? What does it mean by Awakening? Don't hide it now. Is there is something that will show you that ‘Now I am Awake’?

This is for all of us, because many of us have ideas about Awakening. What we are usually talking about is the Awakening ‘experience’. It is not about an experience. We want to have the ‘laughing Buddha’ experience; or the ‘crying on the hotseat’ experience. All these are very beautiful but they are not prerequisites to Awakening, not prerequisites to Freedom. It's not about the experience. It's about your realization about what is true and what is false.

“When the idea of the person has completely dissolved, when the illusion of the monster under the bed has gone, I will be Awake.”

This is the concept. It is projecting something in the future that the idea of the person must completely dissolve. But what I am saying is: right now there is no person. Right now, is there a person, in the moment; without projecting anything into the future or referring to the past? If it is real, even phenomenally if it is real, then it must show up right here, isn't it?

So don't wait for anything to happen completely. There is no Being who was given this birth in this realm in whom the idea of the person is one hundred percent dissolved. Even the great Sages and Avatars have shown the moments in which they believe the person idea. That is why we say: Even Ram grieved when Sita was taken away. Even Jesus cried out on the cross. These are beautiful examples to show you that in this world of conditioning, some element of personhood will always remain.

The burnt rope will still remain as a burnt rope, but it will lose most of its power. I jokingly say it will lose 99.5 percent of its power. [Laughs] If the mind is saying it must go completely, (it knows that it will never go completely), then it will make you believe in the idea of bondage. So don't expect now that the idea must go completely. Just be here and present right now. Then where is the problem?

We are working too hard for something that is the simplest thing. No work is required now; no work, no effort. Drop all understanding, effort, everything. Even let your attention go free. Just let everything go free.

You want Freedom, isn't it? If you want Freedom, give freedom to everything. Don't resist anything at all. Allow everything to happen. Be completely open. Let attention also go wherever it wants. Let every thought come. Let all emotions come. Let it all come and let it all go. This is not a doing. This is the dropping of all effort. We are One right now.

I will never point you to something which I have not seen for myself to be completely true. It is only from what has been seen here. So when I tell you that ‘It is simpler than simple’ it is because it has been seen this way. Drop all expectations, drop all images; let it all go. No resistance. Complete openness to all that is arising. Don't even label what is coming up. Don't label anything. Don't even label what is happening now.

Just like this, naturally, is Freedom. All states are allowed to come and go. We have no sense of control, no expectations; everything is flowing in its own beautiful way. This is Freedom.

The idea of Awakening is the seeming-obstacle in the Freedom which is already here. What is seen here is that Freedom is already here. If you rely on any idea, in this reliance you are pretending to get bound.

I want to make this point again: even your attention, don't try to control. I know you’ve heard with some teachers sometimes that your attention should be here, or there, or it should be at home, or it should be anywhere. Just for a few moments even, let attention free. Then you will see that it has nowhere to go. So even the effort to control your attention can go.

Let everything just flow. If your body is moving, let your body move. If some words are coming, let the words come. Just be completely free from all of this. Don't do anything, don't ‘not do’ anything. Don't plan, don't ‘not plan’. Don't fear, don't ‘not fear’. Everything is allowed. Everything is allowed to come. Now speak from here. Then you will speak as Me. It is as simple as that.

IT'S ALL ONE BEING

“Could we speak about fear of engaging in the world or fear of people?”

We have looked at that, isn't it? Let all the fears come and let them go. Let the words come from your mouth on their own. All engagement, all interaction, all of it will happen naturally. All physical effort will also flow on its own. Non-doing does not mean that there is no physical effort. The body can still move, the hands can still move, the mouth will still say words, but you just see that all of it is flowing through Consciousness Itself. You lose the individual ‘I’.

No idea is of any use. You see, we are going towards ultimate simplicity. We’ve just thrown everything away now. Lose all your concepts. Without a concept, show me some trouble. Can you show?

“Thank you. This is so helpful. I've been in the habit of wanting other people's reactions, and wanting the ways of being in the world to be different to how they are.”

This is the important point. We say ‘I must be free, I must be free, but others should be according to me’. This is another trick of the mind: ‘I must be free but others should be according to me’. You see, this is not possible.

To find your Freedom, to find your Truth, you must discover the Truth of all Beings, because it is one Being. Give the Freedom to the world. Give the world its complete Freedom. Then nothing can stop your Freedom. If you are still retaining some concepts about how the world should be, then this is not Freedom. Because you are setting conditions; not for the world, actually, but for your own self. Because all of this is your own self, wanting to control. If you let it go, it is gone.

Let all fear arise. Don't say ‘It is my fear’. Even better if you don't even label it ‘fear’. Just see it as some energy is arising. What is telling you that it's fear? What tells you that this energy here, this uncomfortable energy here, is fear? What do you call fear? What do you call joy? What do you call bliss? Who decided that this is what they are? If you were to drop these interpretations then what would the problem be?

Be completely open. Nothing can hurt you. It can only help to show you what is still being identified with. If something is feeling sticky then say ‘Okay, I am still identifying as this person or that person’. But now you see that you are no person. You are a nobody. For the ego, it's a big insult to call someone a ‘nobody’ in this world. But actually, truer words were never spoken. There is nobody here. The body can appear but there is no person here. There is nobody. There never has been and there never will be.

“Can we hurt other people’s egos?”

This distinction of you and another will go. Without the labeling, without the interpretation, you will see that it is all one Being. Also the ego is ‘the same guy’ as my Master says. It is ‘the same guy’ pulling tricks. If it is auditioning for your attention through thoughts, then it can also audition for your attention through seeming others’ thoughts; actually the same ego. You just follow the Heart. You just let go of all that the mind is saying. Don't believe any concept and don't be worried about any outcome. If nothing can hurt you, then why worry?

YOU CANNOT BE HURT

This is the core message of the Bhagavad Gita, actually; that you are the Untouchable, you cannot be hurt. You cannot be burnt, you cannot be cut. Then why do you worry about the outcome? Even if a little bit of this identification with a person is there, then life will show you things so that you can transcend it. So don't look at suffering as a horrible thing. Look at suffering as an opportunity. Look at it with wonder. Say ‘How can this still happen? What am I still believing?’ Then these beliefs will come up, and in your own light they will be let go of. Don't be fearful of this cleaning up process. Then you will begin to see everything as Grace. And don't judge whether you are hurting another person or not. We can never know what is good or bad for another person. Let Consciousness do what it wants to do. It knows what it is doing and it has perfect timing.

“It's the moment of Truth when all falsehoods still held onto come up like a brightly lit fluorescent board.”

The writing is clearly on the wall. The mind will try to say that ‘Nothing exists…, nothing exists’. But life knows exactly what it needs to do, and the writing shows up very quickly on the wall, and this is the greatness of life. This is not the negative of life. This is the greatness of life. Otherwise, in our denial, if we had the power to deny so strongly that nothing would show up, then for many, many millions of more lifetimes we would just continue this delusion. But now, especially in satsang, it comes up fast, fast, fast, so that this washing machine is cleaning up everything.

Many times it can seem like ‘It is done’. The squeezing is over; all the dirt is out. It feels like that, isn't it? It's so simple. But the washing machine knows how much dirt it has. This washing machine is Supremely intelligent. It knows completely when to start and when to stop; and if you stop resisting the water in this washingmachine, and the tumbles, then it is Freedom. Then you enjoy the ride; you enjoy the wash. [Laughs] Sometimes cold wash, sometimes hot wash, sometimes rinse, sometimes spin-dry. All this you will not be concerned about.

It is a funny thing. All of us say in satsang that ‘Whatever is left here, let it all go; let it come up, let it be exposed’. Then when life comes with a whack you say ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So when the whacking comes, if you remember that ‘This is a prayer that I made’ then it will not seem to hurt at all.

It can seem like a strong belting. It is actually a strong melting. Because you made the prayer ‘Melt it now’. Your prayer is getting answered.

Who wants Freedom right now?

Not in 15 minutes. Not 5 minutes later. Right now.

If you want Freedom right now, drop All control.

Let go of All effort; everything.

Don't even control your attention.

Nothing.., nothing.., nothing.

Don't control anything.

Don't work at anything.

Don't seek Freedom.

3-2-1 Drop it all. Now you are Free.

NOW you are Free!

NOW you are Free!

Every moment fresh!

NOW you are Free!

Fresh, every moment!

NOW you are Free!

Don't go wandering off with your mind.

Now you are Free!

Now the mind is ringing the door-bell, saying something important.

Will you open the door? No! You are already Free.

Whatever is coming up: drop it: drop it: drop it.

It means nothing to you.

Any appearance means nothing to you.

A thought could be very well-dressed. It might have put on its best suit, and might promise to change your life forever, promise the riches of the world, promise you the ‘best’ relationship. You say: ‘I don't need you now because I am already Free. I already am everything. What can you offer me?’

Don't buy any deals from the market-place of thoughts.

You are Free.

Don't pick up anything.

And if something gets picked up, drop it.

Can we make it any simpler than this?

DROP ALL EFFORT

“Ananta, can you please speak about tendencies spontaneously flaring up, from anger or personhood memories?”

Now, when we have let go, then all this might come up to get released actually. You can stop resisting; then what will happen is they are allowed to get released. But if we resist, if we say that ‘This should not happen now’, if you fight what is, it is the ‘what is’ which wins. The mind can never win against ‘what is’. But in the fight you will become tired.

So let everything come and go. If anger is getting released in this way, it is fine as long as it is not a habit. If you feel that anger has become a habit now, as you're becoming free from all concepts, then you will find that you have nothing left to defend. There is nothing here that can be attacked, therefore there is nothing left to defend. And if there is nothing left to defend, then you will not experience the habitual anger. But if it is a rare once-in-a-while occurrence, then let these energies get released. Don't give it another thought. Don't make it into something important. Continue to identify with just the Witnessing itself. Let all of this come and go.

All that is appearing, all these feelings of fear, worry, joy, bliss, peace; all these are constantly coming and going. If we attach or have an aversion to any state then we are creating conditions for our own freedom. You have the power now to let it all be. Just let it be. And if still something comes strong, then you find out the ‘me’ to which this is happening. It is happening to nobody.

Now for you, this idea of personhood is completely dissolving.

The other day we said: Supremely Simple Satsang: Just don't believe your next thought. You see, my Presence, the Presence of Being is already working on you from the inside. The words are just an excuse for you to come to this Presence. The Presence of Being is my present to you.

Let’s just be in this beautiful Presence of satsang.

The true discovery, the true realization lies in this Presence.

Let’s just be together in silence now.

[Silence]

Allow everything to flow.

Drop all effort.

Drop all control.

Let everything move as it must.

Let all thoughts come and go.

Let all emotions do whatever they want.

Let your attention be completely free.

Let the flow of breath happen at its own pace.

No control over anything at all.

Just let it all go.

Don't resist anything at all.

[Silence]

Stay completely open.

No difference between inside and outside.

[Silence]

Savor the taste of your own Being.

Taste the presence of I Am.

[Silence]

Stay like this.

Don't pick up any effort.

Hand your existence over to existence.

Nothing can bother you here.

Don't pick up any belief about yourself.

Don't accept any stories about yourself.

Hand over everything at the Satguru’s feet.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

[Namaste]

So much love to all of you.

THE CALL OF ADVAITA

Nothing actually needs to be done. You cannot do anything at all. At one level we can say that you have no power and no control over anything. It's only an illusion; the delusion of control and power which you have. But in actuality ‘you’ as an entity do not exist. You do not exist as an entity at all. You are not a thing.

This is the call of Advaita, that there are not-two. For you to exist separately there must be two, but your existence in the separate realm is only an appearance. There is no reality to it.

Then the question can be ‘Then why do I suffer?’ At the core of all suffering is the delusion of being a person. At the core of all suffering is the delusion that ‘I am a person’ and this delusion is created and perpetuated only by belief in thoughts.

We're making it completely clear today. No fancy words; just complete clarity which has the potential to end all suffering.

At the root of all suffering is the misconception that ‘I am a person’. How is this misconception created and perpetuated? It is through our belief in our thoughts. Therefore we say: How do we be free from suffering? It's as simple as letting go or dropping your belief from the next thought. The simplest way: Just don't believe your next thought.

Then what happens? Then the daydream will end. The identification with the false will stop. But as we drop our next thought, we will not have an expectation of anything happening as well. So in that moment; in this moment, without using belief, you are free.

If any suffering is arising, there must be belief. [Silence]

If we are suffering we can quickly check: What are we believing?

If there's any trouble at all, we can check: What are we believing?

In this moment you can be completely free; in fact you already are. Don't believe anything. The appearances can play in any which-way. It is completely allowed and fine.

“Anantaji, can you talk about the subtle beliefs that arise as emotion or sensation?”

An emotion can arise. Let’s say it is a fear that is arising. With the arising of the fear, it is still not a problem. It is still not suffering actually. We suffer still only because we believe a thought about this emotion. All these emotions / sensations will arise and will be allowed to get released. But it seems like we get into a fight with them because we start believing our interpretation, the mind's interpretation, of this emotion.

The problem is still the same whether the appearance is at a mental level or at an emotional level. The problem is always believing the interpretation of it. So then, when this emotion arises, we do not even label it, because the labeling is also an interpretation.

It is just an emotion. We have seen that something that comes, anything that comes, does not last. Therefore it is here now. We know that it will leave but there is no rush; because actually it is seen now that even this does not touch you. There is no ‘me’ to which these emotions belong. They are just another appearance. So the trick is the same; to not believe our next thought, even about the emotion. Then we will stop predicting or having a preference for which emotion should come or not. And with this preference going, the full release can happen. Everything can get released. Energy is present in the body, life force is present in the body. That can keep coming up and down, but Being is already present fully.

“That means I am not person, but as Consciousness that I am manifested; and if I am unmanifested, there is a neutral attitude. Does that mean freedom forever?”

Yes. The Unmanifested Pure Seeing. Then there is a birth of the manifested, what we call the Immaculate Conception. So in the Pure Witnessing, Pure Awareness, there is now the birth of the Pure Being. Even the birth of this Being is made up of this Awareness Itself. With the light of the entire universe, we have actually never left the Witnessing perspective. It is just that we have now the power of attention, belief and identity, and with these powers we believe our Self to be a person. But actually nothing has really changed.

Right now, if you were to imagine yourself to be, say, Tom Cruise, that doesn't mean that you actually become Tom Cruise. You see? But we have the power to believe that. Then with belief in this, and then more and more belief in thoughts, we make this belief stronger. Because there is belief in something, it can seem real; that is the best that it can do. The person can seem real, the suffering can seem real. All these appearances can seem real but none of it can actually become real, even with the power of our belief. Reality is only pure Awareness. So because we cannot stop being Aware, we are always Awareness alone.

“Last week when there was strong fear arising here, you advised me to allow the energies to express itself through the body if it is arising, but to not interpret it in any way. With this, could see clearly that everything can appear and go. I am untouched.”

This is very beautiful. In spite of any of these appearances in body and mind, you remain untouched; the Eternal Witness to all there is.

“Can you talk about love beyond? There is a huge attraction towards other forms of life; that is birds, plants, animals.”

Yes, some of this is very natural for us. In this way, if Consciousness is playing out the love for other Beings, birds, plants, animals, then without the interpretation this cannot cause any suffering. Let it play the way it is meant to play; no judgment, no interpretation; no specialness also is needed. All is just happening as it is happening.

I don't see any trouble in this. No need even to compartmentalize if it's coming from the mind. Let everything flow naturally. In this moment, if there's a bird out in the balcony and there's so much love arising for it, that is perfectly fine as well. If there's another human being sitting next to you and so much love is arising, that is fine as well. Don't create any mental compartments also. When you come to the point of Oneness you will see that all of this is arising within You, and that does not mean that these expressions will stop. No, the expressions will continue very naturally.

“Somehow I feel like ‘Being’ is not given as much importance here [in this life]. Feel like the Being is bypassed to Pure Awareness.”

For some it is needed that they have this middle step. There are no steps actually, but for them it seems like it is comfortable first to take the middle step of putting their attention into the sense of Being, the sense of Presence or the sense ‘I Am’. The sense of Consciousness still seems like something solid which can be hung onto.

For some, the leap from this sense of personhood directly to Awareness where there is no entity at all, nothing phenomenal to cling onto, seems like it is too much, and the mind creates a lot of fear about it.

Therefore in many paths actually it is said to first take this step of being in the Presence of this Atma; the Presence of Being. In fact, in many paths, this is enough. They call this Self Realization. But we see that there is a Witnessing even of this Being, and this Witnessing is prior to Being; therefore this Witnessing-I-Am. So either is fine. Either marinating in the Presence of Being or just to stay as the Absolute Untouched Awareness; either is fine. As long as we are not calling ourself a person there is no trouble.

Some have heard this ‘Stay as the ‘I Am’, Stay in the Presence of ‘I Am’. It becomes a practice and they feel like something will be lost if I let go of this Presence ‘I Am’. It is not meant like that. It is just meant effortlessly to see what is here now.

No effort is needed to create Being. Effort is needed to create the false. Effort is needed to pretend to be the false. The Truth needs no effort. So what remains without effort? What are you without any effort?

The Witnessing is untouched even with the birth and dissolution of Consciousness. This birth and dissolution of Consciousness is the birth and dissolution of the universe. Doesn’t sound so great, but actually it happens every day. When the waking state comes, it is Being that wakes up; and in the Being, the entire universe is created. When the sleep state is coming, then Being gets merged within Awareness Itself. Consciousness is no longer present; and with this there is the dissolution of this universe. The next waking state might come, which might be lead to the creation of a completely different universe, and we call that the dream state. But while we are in it, it is the waking state, you see? Many, many of these waking states can come hence; many, many of these universes are created; all in your own light.

It can seem like a dream lasted only half an hour but you could have lived the life of a hundred year old in the dream-state in half an hour. While inside the dream, it does not seem like something is moving on fast-forward. A hundred years feel like the hundred years. It's only after waking up that we see that this time was illusory. In the same way, the life of this person, the life of this waking state, is nothing but the blink of an eyelid. For you, it is not even that. For eternity, even a trillion years means nothing at all.

“Why this distinction between mind, body, thoughts, etc?”

In actuality there is no distinction. But if you say that you are suffering with something, if there is a complaint of some suffering, then we need to make this distinction and see that it is only imagined; what is causing the pain. It is only to be used as a thorn to remove other thorns and then to be thrown away.

If you're saying that there is some pain in the body and we find that a thorn has gone into your finger, then it does not help to just intellectually say that there is no distinction, it's just one body. You must find where the thorn is; and you see that it is in the finger and then we remove the thorn from the finger. Then it is seen clearly again that it is all one body.

If really there was no separation, there was no distinction, there was no identification with separate personhood, then there could be no suffering, there could be no desire and no aversion.

We must be true to our Self to observe if all of this is still real for us. Whether something has just been mentally understood, or has it become our living experience? Have we actually checked for ourselves that the sun is rising from the East? Or we just heard somewhere that the sun is rising from the East? Once the Truth is seen, then the distinction between distinction and non-distinction will also not have distinction.

“Wholeness is already there. Why again ‘returning to wholeness’?”

It's an excellent question! That is why we say that you have never left the destination. You have never left the destination. What is being said here is exactly what you are saying, that you don't need to walk any paths, don't need to do any effort; nothing at all is required. You are already the Self. But when initially, for many, the testimony seems like the voice of a ‘person’ then it must be said that: ‘Examine who you are’. Because Consciousness has the power of belief. It has the power of belief of the false. With this power of belief of the false, it is God Himself who has deluded Himself to pretend to be a person; and then God Himself is playing this game of appearing to Himself and saying ‘You are not a person’. This is just the way the play is playing out. If it is clear that the separation never happened, then no need at all for any of this conversation.

Let’s sit in silence for a few moments together.

Just let go of all effort, all control.

Leave your attention also completely free.

Let all emotions and thoughts come and go.

The natural state, the natural state of Sahaja Samadhi or just Being as the Self, is the simple state; the simple dropping of all effort and all resistance.

Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti. [Namaste]

YOU-AS-AWARENESS

Understanding which is devoid of Love is only half way there.

I happened to see one conversation between two very great Masters today. But what I noticed is that it was all coming from the intellect, and the words were not dipped in honey.

But This Love is beyond all intellect. Your words can be completely nonsensical, it does not really matter. But all Beings can recognize the Love which is flowing from your Heart.

It was clear the words were not coming from the Heart, because they were devoid of Love. They were devoid of Peace. They were without any Joy. When it is without this Presence of Love, then it must come from the mind.

I'm not sharing this as a judgment but as a pointer to all of us to see that we don't get lost in this intellectual understanding to such an extent that we lose our compassion. It must never become a game of ‘one-up-man-ship', that ‘I know more than you. I am a greater jnani then you’. All this can only come still from the personal mind, isn't it?

The mind can be so tricky that it can even play this pure knowledge as an excuse for ‘one-up-man-ship', as an excuse for specialness, as an excuse to prove that ‘I know better than you’. We must find whether some of this tendency still remains here.

As I was seeing this interaction, it was not like it was a judgment about that interaction. It was more of a searching for whether this tendency still lurks here somewhere as well. And with that, the prayer comes that: If there is any arrogance that still remains here, please slap it out of me this very instant. This very instant.

DARKNESS IS ONLY THE SEEMING-ABSENCE OF LIGHT

The light does not have to ‘work’. The light does not have to make an effort to dispel the darkness. It is the nature of light that darkness cannot survive. You don't have to work at it. In the Presence of Being, unattached, uncontaminated, the false ego will not survive. Because darkness has no substance actually. Darkness is only the seeming-absence of light. It has no independent existence; just like the ego.

So we must not even make a big thing about the ego. We must not make a big concept out of ‘person’ also. Because if we keep believing that it is a big obstacle, then in our belief it will get that reality. Just be in the light of satsang and all darkness will be dispelled. That is one of the meanings of the word ‘Guru’ also; the Guru is the dispeller of darkness.

It is not an effort to be in the Presence of the Satguru in your Heart. It is only seen that the Presence is strongly felt when we let go of effort, when we give up this myth of attempting to do something instead of just witnessing the flow, when we rely on our thoughts; as if God would need a thought to run the world, as if God needs a thought to run this life. Therefore the confusion must be that ‘This is a personal life’. The misconception must be this. As you see through this misconception, then you see that this is God's life. God is living this life. The Eternal One is leading this life.

Don't give any attention to the darkness. It is not real! And if you find that it is difficult to withdraw attention, at least withdraw your belief. That is enough, actually.

What remains here now?

SURRENDERING THE EXCUSES

“There are some ‘buts’ arising here. Putting them always at your feet.”

This is very good. As you are burning them, as you keep surrendering them, you will see that they will lose all power that they had. The mind will not stop. The mind will not stop saying ‘but…, but…, but…’ It's just that what used to seem like a loud noise will become lesser and lesser until it becomes like a distant whisper, and what seems to have a lot of magnetism today will not have any power at all.

So, don't attempt to change your mind. If you're expecting that the mind will get reformed, just forget about it. It is the nature of mind to perpetuate separation, even when it is pretending otherwise. So don't attempt to change your mind. Just change your belief; just remove your belief.

You can either believe the voice of the Satguru in your Heart or you can believe the mind. If you try to manage both, if you try to juggle both, if you create a dichotomy between satsang and the so-called outside world, then life could become very uncomfortable; and with good reason, because this discomfort will make you look further. Then you will find that ‘With my belief just in the Pure Presence that is here, then all belief in the mind is gone’.

LIFE IS SATSANG

What is said in satsang applies to your entire life. Usually it is said that what applies in work only applies to work, all that is said in family only applies to family; but what is said in satsang applies to your entire life. In this way, the misconception about who you are and what you are is dropped and life stops being a struggle.

Most of humanity seems to be struggling through life, isn't it? And what are the ego’s mantras? ‘If you fall down, fight back, get up again, fight one more round’. All of this is just visual metaphors for this life being a struggle.

What is there to fight for? You are already the Supreme One.

Why do you have to fight one more round? Against whom are you fighting? What are you expecting to win? What are you fearing to lose? Drop all concepts of this struggle. It's become a habit for many of us.

HOW FAR AM I FROM THIS AWARENESS?

It's the simplest thing: I am able to say that there is something, or there was nothing. And if I did not witness this nothing, then I would not be able to say that there was nothing.

When we're identified as This Absolute Awareness itself, then it does not matter; any state can come and go. All ‘somethings’ can come and go; all ‘nothings’ can come and go. I am untouched by this play of something and nothing.

When we are untouched, we realize that ‘I am untouched even by the most horrific or the most sublime of appearances; and untouched by the lack of any appearance’. Then this is freedom. This is your true, natural state.

“Sometimes there is a feeling to just stop; to stop scanning Facebook, the chat groups, books, etc. To just stop looking for the answer or for something to sink in.”

It's not about the action, you see. It is not about what is flowing through this body; whether we're chatting all day or sitting in a meditative silence. It is ultimately not even about that. It is whether there is any belief given to the mind, then all these actions are happening. That is the root.

A liberated one can have the busiest job, or can be sitting in a cave. So it's not about the actions. But if there is a belief in a thought, even a thought that says ‘Something needs to sink in’ then just see that what is being spoken of here doesn't even need to ‘sink in’. I get the essence of what you are saying. But right now: you are aware.

This is for all of you: Right now, you are aware.

Please hear my words: Right now, you are aware.

Can you find any distance between yourself and this awareness?

And don't automatically answer; even if you feel that ‘I know this answer completely’.

Look: I am aware now.

How far am I from this awareness?

Is there any separation between this awareness and me?

What is needed to be understood to find this awareness?

Can I ever become anything but this?

Just look at this fresh, as if you’ve never heard any of this before.

As you let go of your next thought, you will see that all these actions are unfolding on their own.

STOP THE SEEKING AND GRASPING

“Something feels to stop. Not to stop coming to satsang, but to just stop this trusting of seeking and grasping.”

Yes! This can be done right now. If there is a needy, seeking, grasping sort of energy then this is only coming from the sense of separation. Because only the imagined one, only the impossible one can say ‘I need to get somewhere. I need to understand something’. Or even to say that ‘I got it now’. It is only the imagined one, the impossible one, that can say this. So this we can stop.

If you find that ‘I am aware now’ can you see that this Awareness is not seeking anything at all? This Awareness is seeking nothing at all. That is why my Master says ‘Stay as the Awareness’. You see, there is some power in these words. Although the mind will come and say ‘How can I not be the Awareness? I know this now’. But sometimes it feels like some seeker-entity seems very strong. So even drop this by staying as the pure Awareness itself.

“Oh, yes, stop it. Trying to grasp is so exhausting; almost painful.”

Yes, it's very exhausting to keep asking ‘What’s in it for me?’ and to keep looking for something I can get from every situation.

PARENTING

“Anantaji, my children have been challenging me with their anxiety which has lead to my own heightened anxiety and lack of sleep at times. I feel I am not the right parent for them.”

God cannot make this kind of mistake. It's only the mind which can say this. If you were not the right parent for them, they would not be your children. You are the perfect parent. The Universe makes no mistakes, and it has perfect timing.

This does not mean that everything becomes ‘chocolate flavored’. This does not mean that everything goes according to the mind's plan. Like my Master says ‘God is never so unkind as to fulfill all of the mind's plans’ because then we would be deluded forever.

Your children have exactly what they need. And you have your children to show you exactly what you need. What needs to be overcome and what needs to be transcended is also as important to be shown. All our relationships play this role; but this one more than any other relationship actually.

All that is appearing is exactly as it is meant to be. And we're not saying that it is perfect from the mind's perspective. It is perfect from your realization of the Truth’s perspective, because everything shows you what needs to be transcended.

To have this spirit of surrender, then none of this problem can last. To have this surrender, then you're being the perfect parent, you see? You're being the role model. Because children look for us to show them the way. With this surrender now, you will show them that you are untouched by any appearance. This will be your gift to them. Your freedom will be your biggest gift to your children. And in this way also, the light will carry on further.

THE FRUIT OF SATSANG

These expectations going away is the most auspicious thing. Our desires and aversions going away is the fruit of satsang.

Can something ever happen to This Awareness, for This Awareness?

‘I am the Awareness’ is the end of the story, actually. It is as simple as this. So, stop at ‘I am the Awareness’ and don't believe any thought. Then show me what troubles you.

Once you say ‘I am the Awareness’ then the scope for this ‘but…, but…, but…’ is not there.

It is the most beautiful: ‘I am the Awareness’. Not necessarily to say this in words, but if some words can be used, I cannot find better words than this.

I'm so blessed to be a part of this journey with all of you. In fact, I don't mind saying that I am at your feet, with so much gratitude. Thank you all so much for this beautiful gift.

UNTOUCHED BY MAYA

I feel most of us actually are missing a great opportunity for laughter. We have the services of the best clown in the world; the best stand-up comic in the world, and this stand-up comic is always telling us jokes. Like the Course in Miracles says ‘We forgot to laugh!’ When we hear the jokes of this stand-up comic, we forgot to laugh and we started taking this comic seriously.

We employed the best stand-up comic in the world, the best clown in the world; and now we started taking the joke seriously. We forgot to laugh. Now, even now, if you were to look for a joke; you can just wait for a few seconds and the joke will come. The joke could be ‘You MUST do this’. As simple as that, you see! [Laughing] You get it now?

So we must drop even calling the mind our favorite example of the ATM machine; the ‘Any Time Misery’ machine! We can now start calling the mind ‘Any Time Comedy’ machine!

“It appears scary though; so many people suffering.”

So, how to get comedy out of this? If you look at your thoughts with a sense of individuality, if you look at your thoughts as a person, then it will always appear scary; it will always appear to have a sense of separation.

But if you look at your thoughts as Awareness, or as Beingness then you will find that the funniest things cannot be spoken. [Laughing]

“Any Time Merriment.”

The personal perspective is ‘Any Time Misery’. As Consciousness and as Awareness the mind is ‘Any Time Merriment’. This is very nice. Can you laugh at the mind? This is all for your entertainment. All of this maya is meant to entertain you. You bought tickets to this movie.

From a personal perspective you will not get this joke. When somebody says, ‘Any Time Merriment’ or ‘Any Time Comedy’ we will not appreciate it. But as the Supreme One, as ‘All There Is’ you will find that this is completely true. At best the mind is a comedian; at best. Actually it is nothing at all, but since we're here for entertainment then we have employed the services of this comedian. What is the comedian saying now?

You will see that as you go looking for what the comedian is saying, it becomes very quiet mostly. So what is the comedian saying? When we go looking for it, it becomes quiet. Otherwise our usual complaint is what? That ‘This mind is so active; it just doesn't keep quiet’ and ‘My mind is troubling me so much, so much’.

It's so simple, you see? Most of you know that I'm always pointing you towards the simplest. We can say that my Maha Mantra is this simple: Just don't believe your next thought. No other pointing or teaching is required. All the other teaching is just a variant of this one, isn't it? We’ve come up with simple lines for you to remember. We can say: ‘Fire the interpreter’. Also now we can say: ‘What is the comedian saying now?’

When we stop taking this mind seriously then we cannot suffer. Also this insight will come that nothing can go wrong; everything is exactly as it is meant to be. Never suffer again. Just follow this simple pointing: Don't believe your next thought.

“There is a feeling that I have no control over what arises. I am just here as Awareness through this.”

This is very good that all of this is just coming and going. I am the Witnessing of all these appearances. This Awareness is untouched by any state. Any expression of Consciousness cannot touch Awareness. We are not interested in that which comes and goes. This does not mean that we become disinterested. It only means that we are neutral.

Let’s take an example of this; when I say that I am not interested in this body because at best it will last another 40, 50 years. This does not mean that the body must be neglected. From the state of neutrality, all auspiciousness arises on its own. The only thing that will become clear is ‘This body can never become me’. The body arises from Me; the body is an appearance for me but I can never confuse this body to be Me.

This also does not mean that we become immune to pain. When it is not resisted, pain is no trouble actually. When we know it is another expression just coming and going then we will not suffer from pain. We will experience the pain, but no suffering will be there.

A thought is always referring to us as something which is false. We can never be that which the thought is telling us to be. We can never be separate; we can never be a person. As my Master says ‘Ninety nine per cent of all thoughts are rubbish and the other one percent are also rubbish’. Secretly many of us still say ‘Okay, I know ninety nine percent of my thoughts are rubbish, but these are my special ones. These are my near and dear ones’. These thoughts which seem special must be thrown away. Nothing in the world must be thrown away; we don't say here that ‘You must renounce your family’ or ‘You must renounce your job’. You don't need to renounce anything that is appearing at all. Just renounce your thoughts. No thought is true. So at best, it is comedy.

WHO DIES?

“My mind has been very convincing of impending doom and gloom and people dying. Very hard to shake them off.”

Let’s for a moment understand that you cannot prove the existence of another person. For all you know, they could just be characters which are appearing in your dream right now; but you still will be able to say that ‘I Am’. So the only thing convincingly that you can say is that ‘I Am’. And This that You Are: is that a person? Can you show me where the person is in this? So when you say that ‘I believe that people are dying’ that means you're convinced about your own death actually. You are convinced that you will die.

So let us first find out whether you can die, and then it will be clear to you that ‘If I cannot die, then nobody else can die’. In fact it will be clear to you that there is nobody else. It is all You.

To say ‘Okay, this person will die’ then first we have to show us how this person is alive, isn't it? What is this person? And you have seen this now, that a person is only a set of concepts, only a set of ideas. It has no validity besides just being concepts.

Where is the person? Is it sitting inside the body somewhere? Is the body sitting inside a person somewhere? Can we find this person who is going to die? And you will come to the conclusion that the person never existed in the first place, and one that never existed cannot live or die.

Then at best what you can say is that ‘I feel that I am the body. I'm convinced that I am the body’. This body will die. So if you are convinced that you are the body and you're convinced that this body will die, then what is the problem now? What is the struggle left? So there is no problem even in this.

If you were to be completely convinced that you are just this flesh and blood; if all that you are is comprised of the food that you have taken, then there is no trouble even in this. Because if you're convinced about this then you know that, at death, all of this is over anyway. So just go from moment to moment observing the sensations which are happening in the body. If there's hunger, you eat; if there are some other needs, those needs get fulfilled; and that is it.

This is disappointing, no? To hear that it is so simple is also disappointing to the mind because what we are catering to, including our quest for freedom, is not a quest of the body. The mind tries to have it both ways to confuse us. Most times it gives us things to do which are coming from a personal perspective: ‘I want freedom, I want security, I want relationship’. Then, when it's put in a corner and it is asked ‘Who wants all of this?’ then you say ‘Oh, I'm just a body’.

This is not true. The body does not want security, the body does not want relationships. The body definitely does not want freedom. I often said this, that if you were completely convinced that ‘I am just the body’ then life is very simple actually. You must look at this. What is it that is going to die? And are you convinced that you are that which is going to die?

BEYOND MAYA

“Peace has nothing to do with what comes and goes.”

See, once you say this, then it is over. Then you have seen through this play of maya. Now you're beyond maya; now you are Amaya: untouched by maya. You will see even experiences which cause suffering with so much gratitude; because it unravels, it gives you the opportunity to transcend the false. Now we are withdrawing all power from the mind. Through all the various pointings, we have relegated to the mind to the position of nothingness which it deserves. We call it ‘The interpreter’. ‘A comedian’. All of it is meant to create a distance between you and your thoughts. Now the game is up.

LOVE IS NOT ABOUT ‘OTHER’

“Can you speak about loving as individuals in this [All is One Being]; and where compassion figures into this?”

What is it that we love? We love that which we find Oneness with. Initially it seems like there's a belonging-ness with a set of people, and people love others with whom they have this feeling of belonging-ness with, isn't it? We say that ‘I am so much in love with this person that I can feel their pain; so much in love with this person that I would rather have their pain’. Physically, when the beloved is hurt, then we can physically also experience pain. So this is pointing us towards the Oneness actually. The person takes on a personal perspective and says that ‘I am in love with another’. Actually what is being pointed out is that in this relationship, what is shown is that all are ultimately One.

Suppose that you were driving along on a road and there's a cyclist who’s driving in front of you, and the cyclist just slips off the bike and he falls to the ground. For a moment there, you will also feel the ‘ouch’, you will also feel the pain. Why does this happen? Because ultimately all of us know intuitively that we are One.

So true love can actually come from this sense of Oneness only. If there is a two-ness, then it is actually a need. If I were to love you as another, then it would actually be a need because then I would need you to love me back. It needs to be a symmetrical relationship. But because I love you as my Self I'm not concerned about what your expression is. Whether it is a loving expression or an angry expression or a distant expression does not concern me at all, because my love is independent of any thoughts or actions.

There are no others; there is only God! So all that you see will be seen to be God Himself. And one of the perks of this game is to give God the ability to love Himself or Herself. Once it is seen that all is One, that's where compassion can come from. We are the most compassionate towards our Self. Once the whole world becomes a projection of our own Self, then that is true compassion, true love; love without any need; love with no need for reciprocation also.

We are saying that there is only God from an impersonal perspective; and as you let go of any belief, any concept, you will find that Love is automatically in your service actually. You cannot help but love. The fact is that Love is an energy which is felt; a force which is felt in the Presence of your own Being: just like Joy, just like Peace.

“The One expresses as uniqueness. We feel other’s pain when the Oneness is found.”

When you say already that ‘The One expresses as uniqueness’ then you are already saying that there are no others. In this, we are saying the same thing now, because here you say that ‘All is an expression of Consciousness’. We do feel another’s pain when the Oneness is found, yes. So there must be a common thread of Beingness, isn't it?

Now I find no difference in what you are saying, that ‘The One Itself is expressing different forms of uniqueness’. It's so beautiful, isn't it, that every finger print is different, every face is different, every Being is different from another, every DNA is different, because Consciousness doesn't waste any energy in duplication. All is a unique expression. It is one Being and billions of expressions of the same Being.

“This feeling of other’s pain is extremely painful. I’d much rather suffer myself.”

Many, actually, saints have reported these kind of experiences, isn't it, that the whole pain of humanity is experienced. That itself shows Oneness. It is a way of life showing you that there's Pure Oneness; all is One Being. Otherwise there would be no way in which you would be able to feel the pain of the seeming-others. There would be no common medium for this pain to travel.

You’ll find that only what you can manage is given. It might seem horrific, it might seem horrendous. But I've seen Beings who have gone through huge, huge problems; the death of a very close one, the worst kinds of accidents, the worst kind of crime, and with most of them there is the sense that even in this there was Grace; even in this there was Grace because I discovered so much of myself. Some will say ‘I discovered I was so strong that I never knew’. But many will actually say that ‘I discovered what I Am’.

All appearance is in service to you. Every moment it is pointing you to your own Reality. Everything that is appearing in Consciousness is all in service to You completely. Not the imagined one, not the impossible one; the Real, the Absolute You.

The true compassion, the true love that you feel in your heart will not go away. It is in service to your own Being, and no concepts need to be believed to retain that or keep that. If there is love here, then no words can change it. If there is compassion arising, then no words can take it away. The Peace that you feel in the Presence of your Being is unmoved. The Absolute Witnessing is beyond any appearance and yet all feelings, Love, Compassion, Peace, arise completely naturally in this. All of this is just arising in your Presence. The feeling of compassion, the feeling of Love is independent of our concept about this ‘other or One’.

What is the greatest help you can give another? We say that ‘There is me and there are these billions of others’. Let’s presume that this is completely true; all of these others are there. What is the best thing that I-separate-from-them can do to help another? What is the highest Truth, what is the highest help I can bring to another?

For me the highest answer would be to say that ‘If I was to free this ‘another’ from their suffering, that is the best I can do’. Isn't it? I don't know whether money will make it better, I don't know whether food will make it better, I don't know whether clothes will make it better; I don't know what is going to happen with that money, maybe another addiction could be taken on. But I know that if it is possible for this ‘other’ to be free from their suffering, then there can be nothing better, no better gift that I can give them; no better service that I can do for them. That is the best, highest gift I can think of which cannot be misused also in any way.

So now we have seen from a dual perspective, which is from a seva [selfless service] perspective. What is it that I can do? I can free them from their suffering. But can I really do this? To free them from their suffering, first I must be free from my own suffering. Isn't it? When we have given this gift to our Self, then we can give it to another.

Stay your course; most important: Be free from suffering. Allow the insights about Oneness and otherness. Whether you become a sage or a saint; either is completely fine for me. As long as you have lost the ability to suffer, the way in which your expression plays out, whether that is of an Advaitian or if that is of Mother Theresa, either is perfectly beautiful for me. My only attempt is to free you from your suffering. That's it.

YOU ARE ONLY JUST WATCHING

No matter what the mind is saying; the mind could be saying anything, but you're only just watching. You are the watching, actually. But all that you are doing is watching. You see this? This is what it means when we say that ‘You are not the thinker of thought, and you are not the doer of action’. You are the Seeing, the Witnessing, the pure Awareness. Just the pure Witnessing of all that arises; and the pure Witnessing even of the emptiness itself; the Witnessing of phenomena and the Witnessing of Space in which phenomena arises.

This pure Witnessing is untouched, completely, by even your own action, your seeming-own action. Even the actions are watched. You are the Watching alone. Even the sensory watching is witnessed. All sensory perceptions are also witnessed by You. Sensory perceiving is witnessed by you. You perceive even perception through the senses.

Now what must you do to become free?

When we say ‘watching’ or ‘perceiving’ some confusion can arise, where we can mistake sensory watching, sensory witnessing, to be the pure Awareness Itself. So the advantage of the word Awareness is that is makes it clear that Awareness is aware of even this process of perception. You are aware that you are looking at a computer. You are aware that you're listening to satsang. This Awareness is what You Are.

Where must Awareness go to become free?

What must Awareness do to become free?

What mountain must be climbed for this understanding to come?

Which practice must be done to find out whether you are aware now?

All of this is nothing, nothing, nothing.

So simple, isn't it? As long as we don't believe the ‘but…, but…, but’ it remains this simple actually. As long as we don't believe any doubt, it remains this simple.

You cannot become the imagined one, the false one. It is impossible. For you to become the ego is impossible. You see this to be true, or not, in this moment?

“Impossible for the unreal to be real.”

“Absolutely. Yes, yes, yes.”

So many ‘Yes’ coming [through chat responses]. Very good! All of you said ‘Yes’.

Now, don't believe any doubt. This power of belief you have. After the ‘Yes’ don't believe anything else; and you are Free Now. Even this does not require any belief. We are not interested in the ‘concept’ of freedom.

It is so clear for you now. You have understood so clearly. How is it possible to believe a doubt?

How is it possible for you to believe a doubt?

Which doubt are you still believing?

What are you still resisting?

If there is something, don't try to hide it or deny it. Best to expose it.

“Impossible to believe a doubt.”

Yes. And even if something gets believed temporarily, it is fine.

“Is it that when a doubt is believed, it is believing itself. We are that which watches it?”

This is an excellent question. From this pure Seeing, there is this Being which emerges as Consciousness, which gives birth to all this phenomenal experiencing, phenomenal entities appearing. This Beingness itself starts believing, or deluding itself to believe these thoughts. It is Consciousness itself. There is actually nothing else. And ultimately this Consciousness is nothing but the Awareness itself.

So the doubt or a thought doesn't have the power of belief. It is only Consciousness itself which has the power of attention and belief.

“The real cannot be doubted. The unreal has no substance to believe or doubt. When no doubter is there, then how can there be doubt?”

Then it is seen to be a ‘wrong number’. Even when this doubt comes, there is no one to take hold of it; no one to accept this package of doubt. There is nobody home. The phone is not being picked up now. Doubt can keep calling you, but you know it is not for you; you know the call is not for you.

On the ‘Smart phones’ these days, you can block, isn't it? [Laughs] You can just press a button and block this caller. Can you block this caller? And block means what? Just don't believe anything it has to say.

It's like this Telesales person, you see? In India we have a lot of these call centers now, where there are hundreds and hundreds of youngsters who are selling things all over the world on the telephone. [Laughs]. And this Telesales person says ‘Buy this, and you will be happy; and just buy this one and you will be happy; and buy this and you will be happy.’ You have believed this sales pitch for hundreds and hundreds of deals, and all we have got is misery. So now refuse to believe this sales pitch. Send the sales person in your head to the unemployment line. [Laughs] Nothing at all is useful in any of its deals and offers. [Silence] It is as simple as that. The ego cannot survive your disbelief.

“All that is left is just a play of words. Beings throwing words at me; big, small. Can words be dropped also?”

Yes. But just be careful not to believe the interpretation of any action. Remember that life knows exactly what it is doing. If there is a sense of aversion, even with words, even that will be transcended. All desires and aversions will be transcended; not even a blade of grass you will carry. Words or no words makes no difference to you.

Dropping means to not believe any thought about it. Then you can be in the most noisy marketplace, or you can be on Facebook (which is pretty much the same thing) [Laughs], and Beings can be saying all kinds of things to you but it makes no difference. Everything is flowing on its own. Even in the most noisy or quiet of places, you are just the Witnessing itself. The Witnessing is never agitated; the Witnessing has no aversion. It allows all that is required to play out to just play out.

“So if there is no real doubt without the believer, then doubt cannot truly be.”

Yes. It is never true. No thought is ever true. Just another appearance.

“We are not believer, but that which Sees the arising of doubt; and that's it.”

This is a very natural response, isn't it? ‘Oh, That's It!’

“So, when we are a believer, all suffering arises?”

In anything phenomenal, in any concept, then it is an invitation for suffering to arise, because this misbelief will not be carried perpetually. Suffering is Grace which lets you drop this misbelief. Any concept you pick up is an open invitation for suffering.

Drop all effort. No force. Then you will see that listening is happening on its own, and the answers are also coming on their own. No effort is required. Then every word that you say is satsang. With no effort, no force and no fear, every word that you say will be dipped in Grace when you let it arise from your Heart on its own.

JUST ENJOY THE MOVIE

Stop watching right now! [Laughs] Can you stop watching? Stop witnessing anything. Don't be a witness to anything at all. When the mind hears the instruction ‘Be a witness’ it presumes that it is a particular state that we must stay in. But when we invert this, when we say ‘Stop being the witness’ then what do you say? Can you stop? Who can stop witnessing right now?

“Our nature is witnessing.”

If our nature is witnessing, and we cannot stop, then what is required?

“Yes, I can stop.”

Okay. So we’ll hear more about this. Can you elaborate?

Who can see that you have stopped? Who is witnessing even the stopping? Even if you presume that it is possible, who is reporting that ‘I have stopped witnessing’? It is not about the presence or absence of phenomenal experiences. Even the absence of phenomenon is witnessed, isn't it? You can say there is nothing to report, nothing to see.

“Nobody can see.”

Yes, it's not a thing. It's not a body which can see that there is nothing to report. But to say that there is nothing, there must be a witness who can say that ‘I am sure there is nothing’. It is seen, isn't it? Like you can say whether there is the presence of a thought, or there is no thought. You are there to witness this. In the same way, you are there to witness sleep and no sleep also.

“I just am.”

Who sees this ‘I am’ also? The Presence of Being, the Presence of Consciousness that ‘I Am’ is present. Even this is seen, right now.

When we ask the question: ‘Can you stop being now?’ who sees that you cannot stop being; who sees that Being is here? Who is this ‘I’? This ‘I’ in which even the sense of ‘I Am’ takes birth?

“I am always here to witness all phenomena and absence of phenomena.”

For this Witnessing, for this Awareness, what is the trouble? Can there be a problem?

Then the mind will say ‘Yes, but…., then this happens…, and this happens…, and this appears…, and this feeling comes…, this feeling does not stay…’ And very quick, we buy it again; because it seems like a life-line. These pennies that this ego-mind is dropping seems like the last bit of security we can get. It is not true.

“This ‘I’ cannot be seen.”

This ‘I’ cannot be phenomenally seen, but we can become aware of it right now. Let’s go back to the basic questions today. We say: ‘Are you aware now?’ It is not a phenomenal seeing that confirms this, but it is clear that Awareness is present. So this is This Absolute, which is aware of its own Self: Awareness is Self-Aware. This Awareness which is aware of Being, which is aware of Awareness itself; this is what You Are.

FEAR OF THE MIND

“Contemplative mind is sleeping in surrender.”

Let it sleep. Now we're not fearful of it waking up. We're not afraid of what it is going to say also. That is Freedom. Freedom is not a state where we're afraid of what the mind is going to say next.

“It's what’s going on here. It's a fear of the mind.”

What is the worst that the mind can do? It will question your freedom.

“It's just saying ‘You're going to fail miserably’. Even though I know it's not true. There’s so much clarity, and then the storm just comes, and somehow, I'm believing that. And then the suffering starts.”

If you do a post mortem saying ‘There was clarity, and then storm came’ it means nothing actually. There was an expectation that storm will not come now; or even if storm comes, why does it get my belief?

“Yeah, that's the second one.”

Okay. It's the second one. Earlier it could have been the first. Now it has become ‘Okay, storm comes but I should be able to not believe it’. There’s still lurking this concept of ‘the Free one’ who should now not even believe something. But in the now, what is it? Who is that one who believed? Where is it now? It does not exist.

Our memory is the most unreliable thing. Like, we land in a dream in the middle of a situation. Most times we don't say ‘Oh, where have I come? Who are these people?’ They feel familiar; we seem to have a history with them. We know who they are. So there is memory also of those characters which we've never met before. How reliable can this memory be? Every moment fresh…

“Sometimes I feel it's just hard to drop the vibe. Once it gets your attention and belief actually, it just seems so much effort to drop it; and that creates more fear.”

That is also good, because if there are some thoughts which still get our belief, then that means that there is some identity which has not been transcended yet.

“I asked to surrender it, and then the storm came. It's just like you say; you surrender it, and then you say ‘No, I don't want all of this’.”

That's a very convenient surrender that we do. It's like a deal-making that ‘I surrender and now this storm should not come’. But the storm could be the fruit of your surrender. It could come because you surrendered it, and it could be getting released. You see? In this way, instead of saying ‘It is going’ we say ‘It is coming’. Then it stays; if we say that ‘It is coming’. We have so much power in our belief that it becomes real.

What would be good is to see is: ‘What are these thoughts saying’? Because there is something. If there is something that says that ‘This is what it is’ and you end up giving it your belief again and again, then what is the identity which is still there?

IN EVERY MOMENT, YOU ARE FREE

One thing also you all must remember is that: In every moment, You are Free. This is true for everyone. Everyone is Free every moment. At best, we have the power to believe, to pretend to be something that we are not. But in reality, nothing has changed. So, even if this belief comes, it does not affect anything in reality. That is the Peace of God. As The Course in Miracles says: ‘Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal has ever existed. Herein lies the Peace of God.’

“It just feels like suffering, but even the sufferer is seen; not real. Such maya!”

This maya also is your own creation. You will come to the realization that even this maya is your pet. It is dancing for your entertainment. It does not seem like that because, as part of the entertainment package that you ordered, you also ordered this thing where you will learn something; you will learn to transcend everything that you are not. So it's an ‘edu-entertainment’ package that you ordered. [Laughs]

Suppose nothing got your belief but some identity was still there, and this shows up like 20 years later. By then, you’d started satsang, and people are coming to you. Something pops up and says ‘Hey, I'm still here!’ and you have a big following with thousands of people. Then one day you wake up and say ‘Oh, I'm still seeking. I haven’t really got it. I've only been fooling myself.’

So, let it all come now. Just know that Life knows what it is doing. Life will push every button which is still there. That is Grace. If you accept that it is Grace, then no problem.

What happens when a storm comes? What is our attitude towards a storm? Is our attitude is going to be ‘Oh, no. It's back!’ or is it that we are more like ‘Whoa. Where did this come from? This is here? Wow. Let’s look at this.’

“Sometimes in the storm, there is no power to even look. It's just that I'm pulled into it, and because of the identification, I feel like ‘I'm that’ and it's not good; whatever.”

If there's still such strong identity, then you can identify, and say ‘What is that?’

“No. I'm nothing. But the identity is there.”

Where is it? [Laughs] What is the identity about? What does it say? See, when we say ‘Identity is there’ it doesn't actually exist. It's like a voice. ‘You should be this way’. Just ‘the same guy’. This ‘me’ is not there.

THERE IS NO ‘ENTITY’ WITNESSING

“Sometimes, if I witness, I cannot work so I just do my job. Obviously there is a kind of witnessing there because I'm conscious.”

Because you feel that there is an entity which is witnessing; you feel there is an entity whose job it is to witness. Actually what I am saying is that this Witnessing is what You Are. You are not a thing at all. If you are the Witnessing Itself, then what effort would be needed to be witnessing? But if you presume that ‘I am an entity who needs to do this witnessing thing’ then it becomes a practice.

There is nothing you can do to stop the Witnessing. It cannot go away. That's why I say: Drop all effort. No effort is required. Even in the most deeply identified situations Witnessing is ever-present.

It's so easy because we start at the destination. In this journey, we start at the destination. Even when we are pretending to run about, to do this and do that, we still never left the destination.

THE QUESTION: ARE YOU AWARE NOW?

“It is still not clear this question of ‘Are you aware?’ There is an emptiness which is recognized because the mind doesn't understand the question, I would say.”

Ah, don't make too much heavy work out of it. Just pretend if you were a five-year-old; just a small child who had not read any Advaita books or attended any satsang, and the question is asked ‘Are you aware now?’ If you were not to refer to your mind, then immediately it is seen that ‘Yes, awareness is here’. But if you give this question also to the mind, it will create some contradiction, some doubt, some confusion.

So, actually, in the simple pointings, we've attempted to remove all complexity. We’ve attempted to remove all things that the mind can say to get in the way. Still, if it is given to the mind, it will come up with something. But not to worry even about this, because the trickster’s intelligence also comes from You, and You are the Supreme Intelligence.

Actually, there is no difference between Master and student. It's just that it is appearing that this body has been surrendered to Spirit to use, to the Satguru to use, and another Being is playing out as a student role. I have no idea what I spoke just now, but I know some words came through, and I trust what is speaking. That will become true for all of us. Then it becomes effortless. Then every word from your mouth is satsang itself.

Don't wait to come to some conclusions about yourself. Don't wait to come to a Freedom conclusion also. Be empty even of this concept.

There is no concept of ‘asleep’ or ‘awake’ for me. My constant prayer always is that ‘If there is arrogance here, let it be exposed and let me feel the full suffering for it right now’. There is no fear of suffering. I know that arrogance will lead to suffering. But suffering is now also seen as Grace. So, ‘Let it come. Let it please come right now’.

Who is awake and who is asleep? Any time there is belief in the ‘person’ it is called ‘sleep’. But in actuality, IT is still always only ‘awake’. I cannot say that anyone is ‘asleep’.

That is another example of ‘Level confusion’. What we are speaking of is the reality for ALL. That's why I said that, even if you could be deeply identified as a ‘person’, does that change what you really are? It doesn't. You're just having fun. [Laughs]. You know? It's like if I had bought tickets to a movie and go to a movie, does it change who I am? It doesn't.

“There is such gratitude for ‘Don't believe your next thought’. Nothing can survive it. It does seem, though, that I sort of need to grab ‘myself’ and do it; remind myself: ‘Don't believe it!’ Any words on this? It's the imaginary one employed to deal with the imaginary one. ”

It can seem like this. Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi said it very beautifully when he said that this is the thorn. It is still a thorn, but it will remove all the other thorns; and then you will throw even this. You know in your Heart that if some thorn is coming up, then this one can be employed. But if there's nothing, no pain, no sense of any suffering at all, then even this is not required. Since we've had a long time of conditioning, of believing thought, sometimes these tools are needed; they seem to be needed in this play actually. But even this will be thrown away.

It's all Grace. Once this is seen; everything is Grace. Just enjoy the movie.

NO EXCUSE FOR SUFFERING NOW

First we must drop this concept, if it still exists, that Freedom is something difficult. Also that Freedom is something special. It is the simplest and most regular thing. Go for the simplest. [Laughs] What is the simplest thing?

The simplest thing is nothing at all. But the mind does not understand this nothing. The mind has made another need out of self-realization. It has made another need out of Freedom. But Freedom is the freedom from need. How can the Supreme One need anything at all?

It's not possible for You to need anything at all. That is why we've made it so simple. Actually you have no excuse left to suffer now. [Laughs] You are now grasping at straws to find some suffering. You're working hard now to find some misery? Maybe something feels a bit unsettled if you're not suffering. Something feels a bit unsettled when there is only the neutral state, isn't it? We have become so used to states. On the other end of the spectrum, that neutrality seems very unsteady.

Who’s going to work hard and show me some suffering today? It won't come easily now. [Laughs] You have to really pick up some thought. Pick up a thought.

THE MYTH OF ‘THE MASTER IS ENLIGHTENED AND I'M NOT’

“A zen master just said ‘Awakening is brighter than 1000 suns within’. That's the kind of thing that makes an imaginary need, and a ‘how to get to this?’ It's not misery; but surrendering this as it seems to distract from natural here-now Isness.”

Yes. That is why very often I like to say that it is the most regular. Don't expect any fireworks at all. Fireworks are possible with a lot of sadhana. With a lot of practice, all kinds of fireworks are possible; but these fireworks mean nothing at all.

What you just said reminded me of a visit to Vashishta’s cave. As we got inside the cave, it was like you could experience any part of the Universe. It was as if you were experiencing through Consciousness’ own eyes. The entire realm was available: you could travel to any aspect of the Universe. Everything was seen to be inside. All the suns, all the moons and the planets, all of them were seen. But it was completely clear that it is all still nothing; just another appearance.

When we report these kind of things then what happens is it becomes an expectation. Like there have been many mystical experiences, chakras opening, many fireworks; all kind of energies. But if you were to report them, and report them just incomplete like this, that ‘Oh there was a blue light that was seen here’ without saying that it is not important; because what is important is the witnessing of even this. Then when it is read like that, it can become an expectation in the mind.

I feel also that it is a dis-service, actually. That is why I say that many of our books and literature write a lot of things because of the love that we feel for our Master. Only glorious things are written. But what happens is that it becomes something which is unapproachable. Freedom becomes only something which is meant for one in a million. Here what is being said is that You Are Already Free. You are already free, irrespective of what you are experiencing.

“Something inside says ‘wow’ when you describe the cave experience.”

It is ok to say ‘wow’. But it must not become a desire. You must quickly see that, even in this, what is being said is that the most surreal experience, the most sublime experience, is ultimately still nothing. But if you make an expectation out of it or a desire, it takes us away again into this pretend, imagined one who wants something.

Actually when I saw Mooji, I ran out of questions. I just went up in the hot seat without any question and I said ‘You’ll have to help me with the first question because I don't know what I am doing here’. [Smiles] There’s a video of this as well. [Laughs] It completely embarrasses my children, this video, because they feel that everyone comes with such articulate questions, they speak so well. And I just basically went there and laughed and cried and was completely ineloquent.

But this I can say, that Grace had given complete openness when I went up to Mooji. In that moment he could have said ‘Climb to the top of Arunachala and jump!’ and I would have done it completely. But also this: don't make an expectation of it. So you see the mind will immediately say ‘Oh, you don't have that yet! You're not surrendered enough!’ No, no. It's not in that. It is the Master himself who gave that surrender also. And it is Life also which gave enough suffering so openness was there.

Just yesterday somebody was saying that she had run out of all moves. It seemed like nothing at all was working. That is such an auspicious state. When we see that nothing phenomenal has meaning any more then we start searching for the Eternal.

“The Master himself gave that surrender; can you please elaborate?”

Yes. What happens is that since it is seen that there is no person here anyway, it is not that the person who was called Tapan in those days created that surrender and said ‘I am going to be completely surrendered in Mooji’s presence’. This Satguru, this Consciousness, this Moojiji, himself created this fertile ground of openness. Consciousness is the only doer.

Why it is important to say this is that, when it is said like this, then again the person will come and say ‘Oh you are not there yet, you're not surrendered now’. But in the moment that we are not listening to our next thought, we are completely surrendered. This instant we are surrendered. Like we say, surrender is only the realization of what is true. It is not a ‘doing’. Ultimately it is the realization that ‘I don't exist as a person’.

EITHER INQUIRY OR SURRENDER

The path of knowledge is centred around the question ‘Who am I?’ If I was to speak about the jnani path, then it is enough to say that it is an exploration into the question ‘Who am I?’ The path of surrender is centered around the concept of ‘Let Thy will be done’. Either inquiry or surrender brings you to the same point, where only Love remains. Love remains in service to you. You are not in service even to Love. Love is in service to your discovery of your true Self. Love is rejoicing your Self-realization.

What is self-realization? It is a simple looking at what you really are without relying on the answers from the mind. The instant this looking happens, you have realized what you are. So all of the words of the Guru are just an attempt to get you to a point where you are not believing your mind any more.

THIS SOBER SEEING

It is like we have a judge. So we have taken many different aspects of this mind. We have called it the ‘interpreter’, we have called it the ‘wrong number’ and we have called it the ‘comedian’. Another aspect of this mind is the ‘judge’. We are always waiting for the mind's judgment. You're always waiting for the mind's conclusion. Without this conclusion, something feels unsettled. We're so used to these conclusions from the mind. Conclusion about a seeming other, a judgment about something else, a judgment about our own freedom. Many of us get stuck because we keep waiting for this judgment. Waiting for the mind to profess your freedom.

We have made it very, very simple. When you want to see or perceive Consciousness, all that needs to be seen is that you cannot stop being. Can you stop being now? This Being which cannot be stopped is Consciousness. It is in the light of this Being that the whole phenomenal experience arises. The one that is aware even of this Being is the Absolute, is Awareness itself. It is completely clear that it is ever-present. Because if I were to ask you, (and you were not to rely on the mind for the answer), you see that you are aware now. Are you aware now? It is Awareness Itself which is aware of Awareness. It is not an object or phenomena which is seen to confirm ‘I am aware now’. Awareness is the only non-phenomenal seeing; Awareness aware of Itself.

WHO DIES ANYWAY?

“There’s a lot that comes up around death. Mostly that of my loved ones, but mine as well.”

So what is here that could die?

“The body could die.”

The body could die, but the body dies every night when you go to sleep. Doesn’t it die? And yet you want to go to sleep. We look forward to sleeping because it is rest. We get tired of this phenomenal experiencing very quickly actually. Every night we want to sleep six hours, eight hours to get away from this constant phenomena.

“There seems to be something that still believes it's the body.”

Yes. But the body is not concerned with the body's death. It is still the person, which is saying ‘You must be the body.’ It is this person actually which is scared of becoming irrelevant, which it is becoming now. Because the person is losing all meaning.

This is what Mooji says: ‘I'm telling you that you're the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord’. Then something says ‘No, no but I'm still this person’. [He says]: ‘But You are the Supreme Lord’. Then you say ‘Okay, I’ll believe you. I must be the Supreme Lord, but can you please take care of the body?’

Let’s make it even simpler, what do you say? Where is your husband right now?

“He's in the other room.”

So this ‘with you’ is your own heart. What is real cannot go. In the phenomenal realm actually you cannot be One. It's only in the real that you are One. What is real cannot leave. There is no difference between being in the next room and being on different planets. But actually you're still together in the heart. Don't even feel that you must get rid of this. It's very natural.

“I think that's what is happening is that I'm trying to get rid of it.”

No, you should not. It's very primal, it's very natural. Even with animals you have this kind of attachment to partners and to children. So why must you have to get rid of it? Is it another thing in the enlightened checklist that you have to take off?

“It was at one point, it was. I know better now.”

This is another trick of the mind. You must be free of this. Who says? In fact, you're causing so much misery to yourself by just imagining the death of something, which is here. Just here. It's just the trickster.

So imagine your whole life you will spend thinking about death; and that doesn't help, does it? So while life is here, live. While death is there, we will die. It's okay. What is real will not leave.

“I know it's not true. There’s something, (not as much anymore), of the pain.”

Yes, pain can come. But pain is no trouble actually. It is the belief that pain should not come that is more trouble than the actual pain, actually.

“It is so much more trouble. That is known from experience here.”

The One that gives birth in your Heart is the Creator of all these Beings. Everything is already coming from You. As Consciousness, You are deciding how this world is projecting itself. Not a blade of grass will move without Your permission; just not your permission as a person. All of this is Your own play. If it is Your will, it will be done.

IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THIS

“I don't know exactly where I am; where I am in the play of things.”

Who is the one that looks for where you are? The purpose of self-inquiry is to find that there is no person here, there is no entity, which I can call ‘me.’ So if I were to say ‘Is there a person there?’ and you were to say ‘Okay, let me look. No, I cannot find where I am’. Like you said. So the minute you say ‘I cannot find where I am’ means we cannot take the perspective of a person now, because this person cannot be found.

So until you find this person; don't pretend to be a person. Then what remains? What remains is that there are these thoughts that come.

“Yes, it's like nothing. Even when I find nothing, I don't seem to be convinced by that.”

So when you say ‘I cannot find what I am or where I am, yet I am not convinced by this’ there is still an ‘I’ which is sitting in judgment to this experience. This ‘I’ is only the voice of your mind. This voice is the pretend voice. This voice is pretending to be You.

“Yes.”

So if you were to let go of this voice and not believe it, then what would life be like?

“Very peaceful.”

Yes, it is as simple as that, you see? The voice is pretending to be you, and then treating you as if you are a person. It is like the voice is saying that ‘The sun rises from the west’. Then the Master comes and says ‘But why don't you look for yourself?’ The voice is saying that ‘You are a person’. And the Master is saying ‘Why don't you look for yourself?’ Then what happens is you see that the sun is not rising from the west. Then the voice is saying ‘But I'm still not convinced. Maybe today is a cloudy day’. You see? And then we check again. And again you see it's not rising from the west. The voice says ‘I'm still not convinced’. And this play can go on for a very long time, until you decide that you're not going to listen to this voice because it doesn't seem credible. You see?

“Yes, it's been going on for a very long time.”

Yes. As long as we are giving some credibility, we are giving some meaning, some belief to this voice, then this play can seem to go on for a long, long time. To put it very simply: Freedom is not believing your next thought.

Now a thought will come. It will say ‘It cannot be that simple’ or ‘I still don't get it’ or something like that. If you give that belief, then again you seem to be stuck. Or there can be an expectation that ‘I thought that freedom would look different, that something special must happen’.

“Yes, It's an expectation that there's going to be a moment, you know, and you just can't help it. But it's just a thought. [Laughing] It's a persistent, sticky one.”

The seeker identity has no idea what to do with Freedom. It is only creating this false expectation, and it will only sit in judgment and say that you are not yet free. Everything is constantly changing. In Freedom, does the world become different? No, it doesn't. Does our mind become different? No, it doesn't. Do emotions stop coming? No, it doesn't. Everything will continue, but you stay as the Witnessing alone. Then even when something is picked up, it is quickly dropped.

We're waiting for fireworks or some event to happen which will convince the mind that ‘I am Free’. But I can tell you that even if the most sublime experience was to come, then the mind will make that an expectation. As with all experiences; all experiences come and go, you see? So when it goes, it will say that ‘You were Free for a short amount of time, but now have lost it’. This is the problem with spiritual experiences. Therefore, there is great beauty in this sober seeing, with no fireworks also. Very beautiful. Because it takes away the spiritual trap of experiences. So Freedom for me first is the inability to suffer. You cannot suffer without believing your thoughts.

“My suffering is very minimal because, in that aspect, I don't believe my next thought.”

In this moment, can you find any bondage? Without referring to the past or imagining a future, is there any bondage now?

“No.”

This is Freedom.

“It is…” [Laughing]

If you don't pick up a ‘but, but, but’…, then there is no problem. I see complete freedom. The mind will come in. The mind will come in and it will tell you all kinds of things. But you know what to do with it now?

“Yes, yes, I do.”

Just withdraw your belief. Don't give it any belief.

It is as simple as this. It IS this.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Moojiji ki Jai! [Namaste]

Thank you all so very much.

So much love to all of you.

Table of Contents

About Ananta

Preface

Core Aspects of What We Speak About Here

Chapter 1 What is Enlightenment?

Witnessing

Am I Aware Now?

An Individual ‘I’ Never Existed

Spiritual Identity is Ego

The Satsang ‘Channel’

Off With The Head!

It Is Done

The Ultimate Choice

True Independence

People Change

Chapter 2 Who Is Witnessing?

You Are This Pure Witnessing

It is the Most Obvious

Satsang Style Games

Are You a Person?

About Surrender

From Self-Inquiry to Joy Beyond Words

The Person Concept

Just Let Go of Your Next Thought

Who is Speaking? To Whom?

It's Not a Personal Understanding

Chapter 3 Beautiful Neutrality

Emotions

Simple, Simple, Simple

Can You Stop Being Now?

One Doer, One Experiencer

Can You Stop Witnessing?

‘Person’ is a Presumption

Clarity Has Emerged

All Happens in This

Freedom is Always in the Now

All is Grace

Chapter 4 Master Key

Doubt

Divine Love Has No Need

Ego Needs to be Special

It is Only You that You Want

Give Me All Your Problems

The Master Key

This Silence Cannot Be Disturbed

There is No Person

How to Become Miserable Very Fast

Chapter 5 It's All About You-as-Presence

What a Silly Question!

Withdrawing Belief from Thoughts

You Are Your Own Destination

Convert This Belief to Disbelief

Your Own Being is the Satguru

Complete Surrender/Devotion

About Money

Supremely Simple Satsang

Dissolving the Seeker Identity

Consciousness Speaking with Consciousness

Chapter 6 It Is All Grace

Come to This Heart

All Questions Dissolve in This

Washing Machine of Consciousness

Drop All Effort

The Call of Advaita

You-As-Awareness

Untouched by Maya

You Are Only Just Watching

Just Enjoy the Movie

No Excuse for Suffering Now

This Sober Seeing