Need for organization

 

The entire creation is a huge organization. Everything is made up of atoms. The whole world is nothing but an organization where the atoms have decided to arrange themselves in a specific pattern, to form a particular substance. And those particular patterns bring them specific qualities. Death, decay and transformation happen when the atoms get bored with patterns and decide to reorganize themselves. 

When the atoms of an apple say, “Enough of being an apple”, that is when the rotting starts. If there is never boredom of patterns, there can be no decay. The movement from one organized state to another is also organized. This is the transient organization which we call chaos. This transient organization may need a catalyst, and knowledge is such a catalyst. So, you have absolutely no escape from organization. 

You cannot eliminate formality in society. It has its place. Formality improves communication. Communication is only necessary where there are two. Formality maintains duality. Cordiality improves communion – oneness. Without cordiality, formality can be hypocritical and may appear uncaring. 

Organizational structures are based on formality. An organization cannot begin, orderliness cannot prevail, if formalities are abandoned. All your plans of action are measured steps of formality. 

Cordiality is one’s nature, the core of one’s existence, formality is the outer shell. When the outer shell is thin, like the shade of a lamp, the inner light can shine forth. But if the shade is too opaque, you cannot see the light. Love and knowledge are rooted in cordiality. For these to blossom, you need an informal, cordial environment. Devotion is informal and totally chaotic. 

Devotion and organization go hand in hand

 

What is the difference between desire and longing? Desire is the fever of the head. Longing is the cry of the heart.

Organization is control. Devotion is chaos. 

Organization needs attention to details, a material awareness. Organization is being worldly. Devotion is getting lost, forgetting the world, being in ecstasy. 

Organization and devotion are opposite in nature. They do not go together, yet they cannot be apart or exist without each other. No organization can arise without devotion. When you have so much devotion, you want to organize. Devotion brings faith, compassion and responsibility and a desire to share knowledge, wisdom and love. That is when organization happens.

Organization exists through devotion. If you are devoted, you will not simply sit. The nature of devotion is to give. If you think you are devoted and you are not caring for the world, then you are merely selfish. Real devotion means being one with the Divine, and the Divine cares for the world. 

You often lose devotion in organizing. And often, in the name of devotion, you create chaos or disregard the organization. You have to be a saint to be both in devotion and organization. With both, you are on the mark. So get lost, and be guided.

Make your devotion - intense

 

Intentions keep the tension in. Being hollow and empty means dropping all intentions. Within tension, rest does not become deep. But, devotion dissolves intentions. Intention pushes you to the future, but bliss is always in the present. The one who wakes up to this truth is wise. 

Occasionally, if an intention arises in a state of bliss, the intention can manifest effortlessly. The more intentions you have, the more “in tension” you will be. To minimize your intentions could be your last intention. 

For your prayer to be answered, your desire must be intense. The greater the intensity of your desire and the later it gets fulfilled, the greater will be your gratitude. Intense desire leads you to devotion. For desire to become intense, some time and need are required. When a desire is fulfilled, it loses its charm and significance in the overwhelming feeling of gratitude. 

The son of a farmer in India had a lifelong desire to go to England, and he prayed deeply for it. When the news of his trip finally materialized, he was filled with such immense gratitude that he no longer cared whether he went or not. 

People think that they are unfortunate if their desires are not fulfilled quickly. Intense desire can frustrate you or make you prayerful. In prayerfulness, there is gratitude and devotion. Any intense experience makes you whole. 

Your consciousness is like corn - with the heat of knowledge, consciousness pops up and becomes white and fluffy.

Attaining the Divine depends on the intensity of your longing and not on the time or qualifications. A proverb among the villagers in India says, “It may take some time to pluck a flower, but it takes no time to meet the Divine”. Your abilities or qualifications are not the criteria, it is simply the intensity of your longing. 

Intensify your longing for the Divine right away. This happens when you know that you are nothing and that you want nothing. Knowing that you are nothing and that you want nothing brings a sense of belonging, and belonging intensifies longing. 

Why and how of achieving emptiness

 

Bliss cannot be understood and it is extremely difficult to achieve. After many lifetimes you finally achieve bliss, but once achieved, it is even more difficult to lose. All that you seek in your life is bliss, that divine union with your source, and everything else in the world distracts you from that goal. 

There are a million things to distract you from that goal in so many ways, so many inexplicable, incomprehensible ways of not coming home. The mind is kept alive by cravings and aversions. Only when the mind dies does bliss dawn. 

Bliss is the abode of all divinity, all devas. It is only possible to comprehend bliss, to uphold it in this human body. And having had a human life and having known this path, if you still do not realize this, you are at the greatest loss. Cravings and aversions make your heart hard. There is no use being polite in your behaviour if you are rough in your heart. If your behaviour is rude it is acceptable, but not if you are rough in your heart. 

The world does not care how you are inside. It will only see your behaviour. The Divine does not care how you are outside. He only looks within. Never let even a small amount of dislike or craving reside in your heart. Let it be fresh, soft and fragrant like a rose. It is such an illusion you dislike someone or something, and this only makes you hard and your hardness takes a long time to soften, to disappear.

It is such a trap for keeping you away from the treasure. Nothing in this material world can give you contentment. An outer-looking mind seeking for contentment gets more discontented and the discontentment grows, and complaints and negativity start hardening the brain, clouding the awareness, the aura, and forming a huge cloud of negative approach. When the negativity reaches its peak, like an over-inflated balloon, it bursts and comes back to the Divinity. 

You can never escape the Divine, the long route of negativity, or the instantaneous positive approach. When Divinity dawns, in no time, the shift happens from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, from dull inert matter to sparkling spirit. 

When the heart is hard, there is no fun. You cannot experience fun. Stretching sound is music. Stretching movement is dance. Stretching the smile is laughter. Stretching the mind is meditation. Stretching life is celebration. Stretching the devotee is God. Stretching feeling is ecstasy. Stretching emptiness is bliss. 

Emptiness is the doorway between the material and spiritual worlds. It is where you come to understand the nature of the spirit. If you do not know emptiness, then you cannot know the joy of the being. The knack for experiencing the being causes emptiness. From the emptiness begins the fullness. On one side of emptiness is misery and on the other Side is joy. That is what Buddha meant when he said, “The whole world is misery and what is to be achieved is emptiness”.

Nature of consciousness

 

There is an expression “looking with a thousand eyes” – you are all eyes. You can feel without the skin. That is why people without limbs can still feel sensations in their missing limb. You can smell without the nose and taste without the tongue. When someone says something, you are "all ears" - you are listening with every cell of your body. 

The five senses and the ability to think are all present in consciousness. So each cell of the body has the potential to perform all the functions of the senses. All cells are made of the same tissue each DNA molecule contains all functions of the body. Consciousness is inherent in all cells and every sensory stimulus brings knowledge, which is the nature of consciousness. 

Some people who have lost one of their senses find that the others become heightened. You do not have to lose one to sharpen the others. You can sharpen all of them in deep silence. A single cell becomes the whole body. Somewhere it becomes fingertips, somewhere it becomes the nose and tongue, but everything is a manifestation of a single cell. In the same way, the entire universe is made up of a single substance. 

Feeling that everything is made up of one thing heals the body and mind and balances the three doshas in the body - vata, pitta and kapha. This is savitarka samadhi, which means equanimity with logical awareness. 

Awareness during deep sleep is jada samadhi - equanimity with inertia. Hence sleep is the main factor in healing. Medicines will not help without sleep and rest. Samadhi with ecstasy has no logic. This is nirvitarka samadhi, equanimity with bliss. Nirvitarka samadhi is even beyond the experience of bliss, indefinable beyond words. 

Three forces of nature and how to balance them

 

There are three forces in nature - Brahma shakti, Vishnu shakti, and Shiva shakti. One of these may predominate in you. Brahma shakti is the force that creates something new, Vishnu shakti is the ability to maintain and Shiva shakti infuses new life, destroys old things and brings transformation. 

Some of you have Brahma shakti. You may create something well, but you may not be able to maintain it. For example, you may make friends very quickly, but the friendships do not last long. 

Others among you have Vishnu shakti. You cannot create but you are good at maintenance. For example, you have long-lasting friendships, but you cannot make any new friends. 

Some of you have more Shiva shakti. You bring in new life or transformation, or you can destroy the whole setup. With Guru shakti, all three shaktis have fully blossomed. So, identify which shakti predominates in you and aspire for Guru shakti. Guru makes a group but a group cannot make a Guru. 

Often people think they are in control of their life, their situation, their world. Control is an illusion. The whole world moves according to the laws of Nature in an auspicious rhythm of innocence, intelligence, and divinity. That is Shiva. Shiva is the eternal state of being, the One without a second, the harmonious innocence that knows no control. 

Control is Vashi –Shiva reversed. Vashi is of the mind. Vashi is weakness. Vashi is doing something by exerting unnatural pressure. Vashi requires two, and duality is the cause of fear. 

Shiva, that harmonious innocence, dissolves duality. Shiva means wholeness of the moment. When there is no regret of past, no want of future, the moment is whole and compete. Time stops, mind stops. Every cell in your body has the ability of all five senses. You can see without the eyes, vision is part of consciousness, which is why in dreams you can see without the eyes. 

We need celebration that is spiritual

 

Celebration is the nature of the spirit. But, any celebration must be spiritual. A celebration without spirituality has no depth. 

Silence gives depth to celebration. Some people think being silent is spirituality. Many meditators feel that laughing, singing and dancing are not spiritual. Some people think only celebration is spirituality. 

In some parts of the world - rural India or Africa - celebration means loud music, there is no silence at all. Spirituality is a harmonious blend of outer silence and inner celebration, as well as inner silence and outer celebration. 

Take the first step towards your self

 

Break through all your barriers and feel that you are blessed. This is the one and only step you have to take, the rest will all happen. 

This deep sense of feeling that “I’m blessed” can help you overcome all obstacles in life. You receive courage and confidence, and you will open up for grace to pour in. Once you realise that you are blessed, then all complaints disappear, all grumbling vanishes, all insecurities evaporate. The sense of feeling unloved dissolves, and you stop wanting love. If you do not realise you are blessed, then doership begins. To make a difference in your life, feel you are blessed. 

Especially for those on this path of knowledge, there is every reason for you to feel blessed. Feel you are blessed. This is the first step towards the self. 

Anger of the enlightened

 

The love of the ignorant can be harmful, yet even the anger of the enlightened is not harmful. It can only be good. We have a school at the ashram in Bangalore. There are 250 children enrolled, but only 200 come to class on any given day. Fifty children don’t show up. Why? Because they cry at home, “Mother, I don’t want to go to school”. The mother says, “Oh, la la, don’t cry, okay”. She thinks “No child in the world is like my child”. She gives in to the child and defends him. She does not see the teacher’s point of view.

So, what happens? The child grows up spoiled. The child will never learn the alphabet, never learn to read or write. And the mother says, “Oh, never mind, there are sheep to look after and fields to tend”. Her love out of ignorance has spoiled the child. On the other hand, the anger of the enlightened is a blessing. 

The Puranas give many instances of this. Once a master was travelling with a disciple in the middle province of India. Some boys who were rude, rough, and abusive began to throw stones and tease the disciple, calling him names. This went on for some time as the boys followed the master and the disciple. They came to a river. The Master and the disciple got into a boat and started to cross. The boys got into another boat which began to sink in the middle of the river. 

The master slapped the disciple across the face. The disciple was so surprised, as he had not said a single word in response to the boys’ taunts. He had been such a good disciple and yet the Master had slapped him. The Master said, “It is your fault. You are responsible for their boat sinking. You did not respond to their abuse. Nature has now punished them in a worse way because you did not have enough compassion to quell their insults.” 

That slap from the master took away the karma of this event so that it would not be carried into the future of the boys. It also served to take away any little bit of joy the disciple may have felt as he was seeing the boys’ boat sink! Thus, it also took away the karma of the event for the disciple. Even the anger of the Enlightened is a blessing.

A sculptor of temples uses all types of stones. He uses certain stones for the foundation, these never appear outside. From certain other stones which are good to carve, he makes the walls and pillars of the temple. From yet other stones he makes the steps and other stones become the tower of the temple. Only those stones that are extremely suitable for carving will become installed as the deity. When the stone becomes a part of the temple, it no longer remains a stone, it becomes a sculpture, a piece of art, it becomes the living deity. 

In the same way many, people come to the master. According to the degree of their surrender they are installed by the master. All are essential. If there were no steps, how could a person reach the temple? If there were no foundation, how could the temple be there at all? What can a tower do without pillars? For a sculptor of temples, each stone is precious and valuable.

Is the spiritual Master universal or personal?

 

Often what is universal, we do not consider as personal and what is personal, we do not consider as belonging to everyone. What is “mine” and what is “universal” are completely opposite. This is the cause of greed, fear, jealousy and lack of contentment. 

Wake up and realise that the Lord of the universe is very personal to you. Your personal Master is the lord of the whole world. The Master is your very self and your self is the very life in every being. Make the universal personal, it makes you richer, wiser, stronger. Make the personal universal, you will find freedom, compassion and love. 

How can you make everyone happy? By becoming me. Now, how do you become me? What stands between you and me is your self-image. Your self-image restricts you from being me. Your self-image, whether good or bad, causes misery. If you are open, you are close to me. If you are close to me, you cannot but open up. 

Feel the connection with the Master

 

Someone asked me, when you play little games with us and push us away, how can we feel close to you? I say, you should feel more close if you are scolded or ignored, because to ignore somebody takes a lot of effort. When a Master does not even ignore wrapping paper or a flower in a vase, how can he ignore a walking, talking, breathing human being who is connected to him? Once you understand this, you immediately feel close.

You are with the master to share the joy of the Master, to share the consciousness of the Master. For that, you have to empty your cup of what is already in it. The Master is ready to share. You only have to share from your side.

Your friends tie you to the world, to matter. The Master ties you to the divine, to the spirit. When you are part of the Master, you have every right to be happy. You have every right to knowledge, happiness, and the whole universe. In the presence of your satguru, knowledge flourishes, sorrow diminishes; without any reason, joy wells up, lack diminishes, abundance dawns and all talents manifest. To the degree you feel connected to your guru, these qualities manifest in your life. 

Sit with your eyes closed and feel your connection with the Master. My Lord, Lord of Creation, My Master, Master of the universe, My soul, soul of all living beings, To him, my gloriously radiant Master, I bow down.

Closeness to the Master

 

What does it mean to ‘see through the eyes of the Master?’ Just this every situation that you face, you are thinking – If this situation comes in front of the Master, how would he handle it? If this complication comes to the Master, how would he take it? If someone blames the Master, what would he do? 

The key is to feel the presence of the Master. The Master is the presence, not a relationship. Relationships can be broken, mended, and broken again. There is craving and aversion in every relationship. 

This is the wheel of samsara, the misery of the world. All relationships go topsy turvy, whereas the Presence is vast, infinite, stable and centered. Don’t make the Master a worldly relationship. “Oh, he looked at me”. “He didn’t look at me”. “Oh, he said this”. “He didn’t say that”. “Somebody else is close, I am not close.” All this garbage comes into it. Just enter the door of the Master and come home. Only the presence of the Master will bring fulfilment to your life – and to all your relationships.

If you say that you have no one in this world, then you are disowning me. And if you disown me, then I cannot do anything for you. If you are not feeling close to the master, it is because of you, because of your mind, because of your ego concepts. Just being on the levels of formal and informal communication cannot make you feel close. 

“How are you?” “Where are you going?” “How have you been?” Stop these formal and superficial conversations with the Master. Speak with your heart what is deep in your life, what is important and intimate to you. Don’t just say, "Oh! How much the squash costs, 30 cents", or whatever. 

Share what you have and don’t judge, “Oh, this is garbage”. The Master is ready to accept garbage of any extent. However you are, he will embrace you. Do not feel shame, shy, or judgmental about yourself. If you do not feel close to the master, there is no point in having a master. It is just another burden to you and you have enough burdens already. Just say, “Goodbye”.

See the world through the eyes of the Master

 

There are 3 Sanskrit words: sukha (pleasure), dukha (sorrow) and sakha (companion). These have one thing in common ‘kha’ which means senses. The self experiences the world through the senses. When the senses are with the self that is joy, or sukha, because the self is the source of all joy or pleasure. 

When the senses are turned away from the self, or dukha in the mud, lost in the object that is dukha, misery. Mud, misery, mind, they are all connected. 

Sukha is the nature of self. And all the sense objects are a diving board to take you back to the self. You close your eyes during any pleasant experience as you smell a nice flower, or as you taste or touch something nice. Sukha is that which takes you to the Self. 

Dukha is that which takes you away from the self. Sorrow means that you have been caught up in an object that has pulled you off your Self which is nonchanging. 

Sakha is the companion who is there in all experiences of dukha sorrow and of sukha pleasure. Knowledge is your companion, and the master is the embodiment of knowledge. If you are stuck in an object, his wisdom pulls you out and leads you back to yourself. 

Eakha (sa kha) also means he is the senses. Sakha is one who has become your senses. It means you get Knowledge through him, he is your sixth sense. As you trust your mind, so you trust him. Usually a friend is an object of your senses, but a sakha has become your senses. Sakha means, ‘He is my senses, I see the world through his wisdom’. Your head will be in the mud in a few years; in the meantime, don’t put mud in your head while you are still alive. See through the eyes of the Master and you will see the whole world as divine. 

Do not follow me. In fact, you cannot follow me, because I am behind you to push you forward. You have to leave everything behind and move ahead. All your experiences, your relations everything is a part of the past. Drop everything. Leave the whole world of your memories behind, including me. Stop looking for more, be free. Then compassion will flow from you. 

When people do not follow anyone, is it usually not out of fear or rebelliousness? One kind of ‘do not follow me’ comes from fear or rebelliousness. Another kind comes from a heightened awareness. You cannot follow me because I am behind you and I am in you. For too long you have been a sheep, now it is time to be a lion. 

How do you feel if someone praises you? Shy, happy, great, embarrassed; it does something to you, doesn’t it? But it doesn’t do anything to me. When you praise the moon, the mountains, Lake Lucerne, the Black Forest, it doesn’t do anything to them. They remain the same. Just like that, I’m part of nature. If you enjoy praising me, you may do so. In fact, you have no choice. You can do with me whatever you like, I’m there for you. You are lost on the street. There is rain, thunder, wind and cold, you need shelter. You look around and you find a door. You come to the door because it is more inviting, more charming, more joyful than anything out on the street. 

When you enter the door of the Master, you come home. You see the world from a new perspective. From inside you can still hear the thunder and see the rain,but it no longer disturbs you. Inside there is warmth and security.

The world looks much more beautiful, not a nasty place, a place filled with love, cooperation, compassion. Your fear drops away. When you can see the whole world through the eyes of the Master, it is a sign that you have come to the Master, you have entered the door. This is the purpose of having a Master. If you are still seeing the world as before, then you have not yet come to the Master, you are still standing out in the street, cold and wet, you are only looking at the door, you have not yet entered in.

Knowledge vs. Information

 

If you are in love with the divine, then you can digest knowledge. Love is the appetizer – seva is the exercise. Without love and seva, knowledge becomes indigestible. 

If love is the appetizer, what is the main course? Knowledge is the main course.

Everything here is recycled. The earth is millions of years old, the Alps, the water, the air. Billions of people have breathed the same air. You are recycled. All the particles in your body are old, your thoughts and emotions are recycled, your mind is recycled. You are a recycled person. Everything here is recycled. Consciousness is recycled it is the same old consciousness. Remind yourself that everything here is recycled material so relax. 

Everything goes to where it came from. Recycling brings back purity and hygiene. Knowledge recycles the mind. Knowledge keeps everything fresh. That is why you can keep recycling the same creation. A mind in knowledge finds everything fresh. If you do not put knowledge into your mind, the mind gets rotten. Knowledge brings the mind back to purity. Recycling brings purity and hygiene.

So, what is my message? I have no message. In order to give a message one has to be far away. A message needs distance. A message is of the past, or of the future. A message is impersonal and lifeless. Knowledge cannot be a message. 

The wise one will not give you a message but will simply awaken you. God will not give you a message. For God to give you a message, God has to be far away from you. God is closer to you than your breath. How can He give you a message? The wise neither need a message nor give a message. The unwise would give a message and want a message and would be unable to use the message anyway. 

Whoever needs the message will not use it. And one who can use the message will not need it. 

What is the difference between knowledge and a message or information? You can read about living in the moment again and again, but it only becomes knowledge when you experience it. You can read the ingredients but when you taste the food, the information becomes knowledge. Knowledge has an end. Knowledge completes. 

So also does discipleship, for the goal of the disciple is to acquire knowledge. Once you cross the water, however nice the boat is, you get off the boat. After 12 years, the disciple completes his studies. The master does a ceremony called samavartha. He asks the disciple, to behave at par with him and allow the Divine, Brahman to manifest, he thus ends the discipleship. 

Sakha is a beloved companion in life and death. Sakha only wants the beloved. He longs only for the beloved. Sakha does not care about knowledge or liberation. His love is infinite and infinity can never be full. His love is complete in its eternal incompleteness. 

There is no end on the path of love. Arjuna was a sakha to Krishna and although Krishna was the perfect master, he was a sakha too. What are you, a shishya - a disciple, or a sakha - a beloved companion?

What is the use of knowledge?

 

You walk until you come to the ocean. You don't walk or run in the ocean - you float and swim. Like this, once you come to the Master, seeking stops, blossoming begins. You seek until you come to the Master. 

Seeking is a desire. Desire is a thought. Thoughts are in the mind. The mind is in the big mind. The big mind in me is love. Emotions are ripples in love. Love is all knowledge. Every atom of the big mind is crammed with knowledge. Knowing this, you stop seeking. You are knowledge. Every atom in you is shimmering with Knowledge. 

In Sanskrit, this is called go. Go has 4 meanings: 

1. Knowledge 

2. Movement 

3. Achievement 

4. Freedom or liberation 

Pal means friend or protector - one who takes care of you. Be a Gopal (go-pal), be a friend in knowledge. Often you become friends by: 

1. Gossiping about negative things 

2. Complaining 

3. Similar cravings or aversions 

4. Common enemies or common problems 

5. Common goals or common addictions 

You become friends with someone because you have something in common. But coming together in knowledge is rare. Be a friend in knowledge. Uplift each other in knowledge. All satsangis are gopals - reminding each other of the knowledge, coming together for knowledge. That is Gopal. Be a protector of this knowledge. 

Knowledge is a burden if it robs you of innocence.

Knowledge is a burden if it makes you feel you are special. 

Knowledge is a burden if it gives you an idea that you are wise. 

Knowledge is a burden if it is not integrated into life. 

Knowledge is a burden if it does not bring you joy.

Knowledge is a burden if it does not set you free.

Knowledge must be properly digested and assimilated. 

Indigestion of Knowledge leads to: 

1. Development of a subtle ego which has no cure. Subtle ego gives rise to habits that are not life supporting.

2. Adamancy 

3. Tendency to preach 

4. Using knowledge for one's own small ends. Familiarity without depth or understanding; flakiness. 

5. Disinterest, taking for granted, lack of awareness.

6. Heart burn.

There is no freedom without discipline

 

People who are free regret that they do not have discipline. They keep promising that they will become disciplined. People who are disciplined look for the end; discipline is not an end in itself, it is a means. Look at people who have no discipline; they are miserable. 

Freedom without discipline is absolute misery. Discipline without freedom is suffocating. Orderliness is monotonous and chaos is stressful. We must make our discipline free and our freedom disciplined. 

People who have company all the time, look for the comforts of solitude. People who are in solitude feel so lonely and want company. People in a cold place want a warm place. People in a warm place love something cool. This is the dilemma of life: everyone is looking for perfect balance. Perfect balance is like a razor’s edge. It can only be found in the self. 

Initiation is called diksha. In Sanskrit “di” means intellect, “ksha” means the horizon or the end. Diksha means transcending the intellect. Education is called shiksha, the horizon of discipline – total discipline. Discipline is needed for education. Diksha is needed for meditation. 

A teacher gives shiksha. A guru gives diksha. A guru takes you beyond the intellect to the realm of Being. It is a journey from the head to the heart. 

Blossoming beyond the intellect is diksha. If you do not go beyond the intellect, you will not smile, you will not laugh. Once diksha happens, you are happy, blissful and contented and your thirst for knowledge is quenched. Totality of discipline is shiksha. Totality of intelligence is diksha.

Finding freedom through bondage

 

One who has given everything has also given freedom. Honour the freedom first and make good use of all things given to you. To think fresh, you need to be free of all impressions. Let go of all impressions right this moment and be hollow and empty. 

When you hear a word, the sound instantaneously conveys the meaning. Similarly, the knowledge that you are sitting, standing or talking needs neither confirmation nor proof. An intention to be free makes you free right away. Realising that freedom is your very nature brings enormous shakti, energy. 

Forget about this knowledge note and be free. The full moon of Raksha Bandhan is dedicated to the seers the rishis. Bandhan means bondage, raksha means protection. This is a bondage that protects you. Your bondage to the knowledge, to the master, to truth, to the self, all save you. A rope can be tied to either protect or strangle you. The small mind and mundane things can strangle you. The big mind and knowledge save you. Raksha Bandhan is the bondage that saves you. 

You are saved by your bondage to satsang. Your bondage to the master, to truth, to the ancient knowledge of the rishis is your saviour. Bondage is essential in life. Only let the bondage be to the divine, in a life free from bondage.

The irrational path to freedom

 

You usually do only that which is purposeful, useful and rational. Everything you see, you see through the rational mind. But an intuition, a discovery, a new knowledge goes beyond the rational mind. Truth is beyond reason. The rational mind is like a railroad track that is fixed in grooves. Truth needs no tracks. Truth can float anywhere like a balloon. 

Some people step out of the rational mind in order to rebel against society. They want to break social laws but it is for the sake of their ego. They do it out of anger, hatred, rebelliousness and to attract attention. This is not stepping out of the rational mind, though they may think it is. 

We step out of the rational mind when we do something that has no purpose. If there is no purpose, the action becomes a game. Life becomes lighter. If you are stuck with only rational acts, life becomes a burden.

Suppose you play a game without a thought to winning or losing, just acting irrationally. Performing an act without any purpose attached to it is freedom, like a dance. Just step out of the rational mind and you will find a great freedom, an unfathomable depth, and you will come face to face with reality. 

Reality transcends logic and the rational mind. Until you transcend the rational mind, you will not get access to creativity and the infinite. But remember, if you perform an irrational act in order to find freedom, then you already have a purpose. It is no longer irrational. 

This knowledge note has already spoiled its own possibility. Break through the barrier of the rational mind and find freedom for yourself.

Education has 5 aspects: 

1. Information - Often we think that information is education, but it is only one aspect of education. 

2. Concepts - Concepts are the basis for all research. You need to conceive of something in order to create.

3. Attitude - An integral aspect of education is cultivating the right attitude. Proper attitude at the right time and the right place determines your actions and behaviour. 

4. Imagination - Imagination is essential for creativity, for the arts. But if you get stuck in imagination, you can become psychotic. 

5. Freedom - Freedom is your very nature. Only with freedom do joy, generosity and other human values blossom. Without freedom, imagination becomes stagnant, attitudes become stifling, concepts become a burden and information is of no value. 

Impact of bhajans

 

When you sing bhajans, the vibration of sound energy gets absorbed into every atom of your body. This kindles the energy in you and brings up the consciousness. Your entire body gets soaked in energy. Transformation happens. 

A microphone absorbs sound and converts it into electricity, the body absorbs sound vibration and converts it into consciousness. If you sit and listen to gossip or violent music, then that energy gets absorbed by your body and does not give a nice feeling. When you hear the knowledge or chant with all your heart, that elevates your consciousness. 

An ancient proverb in Sanskrit says that the words of rishis and enlightened ones are translated into experience immediately.

Why prioritise satsang?

 

The mind that seeks pleasure cannot be centered. When you are centered, all pleasures come to you anyway, but they cannot charm you any longer because you are the source of the charm. The mind that seeks pleasure can never achieve the highest. If you enjoy drowning in your suffering, you cannot be centered, you are far away from the path. If you are after pleasure, forget about satsang. Why are you wasting your time? This is the Art of Leaving. You either seek pleasure or come to me. 

What should you do when people talk negatively? From your side, give license to everybody to talk about anything, about anybody, anywhere, at any time. What type of time do you give the divine? Usually, you give the time that is left over, when you have nothing else to do, when no guests are coming, there are no parties to go to, no nice movies to watch, no weddings to attend. Such time you give. This is not quality time. 

Give quality time to the divine. You will be rewarded. If your prayers are not answered, it is because you have never given quality time. 

Give satsang and meditation your highest priority. Give prime time to the divine. You will be rewarded. Why do people need homes? Can they live like animals in the forest without shelter? Even intelligent animals make their homes. Humans need protection from the changing elements of nature, so they build shelters for physical comfort. 

In the same way, for spiritual and mental comfort, satsang is the shelter. One who does not come to satsang is like a wild animal. Satsang alone makes you civilized. Satsang is the shelter from the harsh and changing influences on your life. Satsang is the nest in which you can find rest. If you are a taker of happiness, you get misery. If you are a giver of happiness, you get joy and love.

Who is a seeker?

 

You can only seek that which you know of and when you really do know, you already have it. You cannot seek something you do not know of. Whatever you seek and whenever you seek it, it is always only One and the One is what you are already. So, you cannot seek something you do not know and when you know what you are seeking, you already have it. When you seek the world, you get misery and when you want to find the way out of misery, you find the Divine. 

A man lost a penny and was looking for it in a bush when he found a huge treasure. He was not seeking treasure but only his lost penny. In the same way, when you seek something, you may get something else. The truth, or self, cannot be sought directly. 

There are 6 signs of a seeker:

1. An acknowledgement that one knows very little. Many people think they know without really knowing or they become trapped in their limited knowledge, so they never learn. Thus, the first thing is to acknowledge that you know very little. 

2. A willingness to learn. Many people acknowledge that they do not know, but they are not ready to learn. 

3. Be non-judgemental and open-minded. Some people would like to learn, but their judgemental attitude and close mindedness do not allow them. 

4. Total, one pointed commitment to the spiritual path. Some people are open minded but they lack commitment and one pointedness. They keep shopping here and there and never progress on one path.

5. Always place truth and service before pleasure. Sometimes even committed and one pointed people stray from the path in pursuit of momentary pleasures. 

6. Finally, have patience and perseverance. Some people are committed and one pointed and are not swayed by pleasures, but if they lack patience and perseverance, they become restless and dejected.

Act stupid & celebrate boredom

 

Different organs of your body are governed by different devas. The solar plexus is connected with the sun – which is why it is called “solar” plexus. When the first rays of the sun fall on the solar plexus, it is very good for your body. This is why it is good to do Surya Namaskar (sun salutation yoga asana) in the early morning. The solar plexus has a profound impact on the central nervous system, the optic nerves, the stomach and what we usually call our ‘gut feeling’. It is the second brain in your body.

Usually, the solar plexus is slightly bigger than an almond. But with the practice of yoga, meditation and Sudarshan Kriya, the solar plexus can become as large as an apricot. Then it performs better and balances the bodily functions. When the solar plexus expands, the intuitive mind awakens and the mind becomes clear and focused. When the solar plexus contracts, you feel miserable, sad, depressed, and all sorts of negative feelings come. Doing Surya Namaskar yoga asana, sun salutation in the early morning is an excellent way to expand the solar plexus.

Krishna was called Padmanabha, which means “whose navel is the size of a lotus flower”. If you become Padmanabha, you become absolutely creative. Brahma, the Creator, said to be born out of a blossomed solar plexus. These days, the solar plexus remains small, but the tummy keeps getting bigger. 

If you are unable to meditate, if your mind is chattering too much and nothing works, just feel that you are a little stupid. Then you will be able to sink deep in. Your intellect is a small portion of your total consciousness. If you are stuck in the intellect, you miss a lot. Happiness is when you transcend the intellect. In awe or in feeling stupid, you transcend the intellect. Have you noticed how mentally retarded people are more happy? 

How do you go beyond the intellect? By acting stupid. Everyone avoids being stupid, no one wants to look dumb. That is really stupid. Stupidity should be followed by meditation, otherwise depression may follow.

What is boredom? Just a repetition without interest or love that causes a monotonous state of mind and overshadows the self. 

Spiritual practices are again a repetition whose purpose is to destroy the boredom and reunite you with the self. A practice itself creates boredom but as you continue, you penetrate the boredom and destroy it once and for all. Whether the practice gives you joy or boredom, it must be continued. Only your practice of your sadhana can overcome the mind. 

The self is love and love is always repetitive. Love letters are simply repetitive but there is no boredom there. If you are bored with yourself just imagine how much more boring you are for others. Root out boredom in you through deep and continued meditation. Wake up and walk upwards. 

Only a conscious, alert and dynamic person can get bored, a dull and inert person does not. If you get bored, it indicates you are more alive and human. It is a sign that you are growing, that you are evolving. An animal, for example, keeps doing the same thing. It never gets bored. Cows, horses, birds do the same things over and over all their lives. People eat, watch television, change jobs, change partners to escape boredom. They become frustrated and this frustration takes them back to inertia and unconsciousness. 

Only in two states does boredom not occur - in a state of total inertia or in a state of divine consciousness. If you are bored, it indicates you are evolving. Boredom moves you. Be proud of your boredom and celebrate. Dissolving the name is awareness. Dissolving the form is meditation. The world is name and form.

Awareness comes with sadhana

 

Yagnas are the ancient methods of enriching the subtle, to purify the individual as well as the collective consciousness. 

Yagna has 3 aspects -

1. Deva puja - honouring the Divine in all forms. 

2. Sangatikarana - hastening the process of evolution by unifying all the elements and people in creation. 

3. Dana - sharing with others, giving freely what one has been blessed with.

Yagna creates energy and energy creates consciousness, awareness. Heightened awareness brings you close to reality and reality is a witness. To realise that everything is happening you need heightened awareness. And to bring about heightened awareness you have to increase prana.

Prana can be increased through -

1. Fasting and fresh food.

2. Cold water baths. 

3. Total exhaustion, not letting sleep take over

4. Emotional peaks. 

5. Singing and chanting.

6. Pranayam, Sudarshan Kriya and meditation.

7. Giving without giver-ship, serving without doer-ship. 

8. The presence of the master. 

9. Silence. 

All these together are yagnas. To the degree that you are awake, everything around you brings knowledge. If you are not awake, even the most precious knowledge does not make sense. 

Awareness depends upon your ability to open and shut your windows. When there is a storm, you need to shut your windows, otherwise you will get wet. When it is hot and suffocating inside, you need to open your windows. Your senses are like windows.

When you are awake, you have the ability to open and shut your windows at will, then you are free. If your windows cannot be shut or opened at will, you are bound. Attending to this is sadhana or spiritual practice. 

Sadhana is the conditioning needed to attain perfection

 

All the problems that you face in life are because you attach too much importance to events. The events grow bigger while you remain smaller. Imagine you are riding a motorcycle on a busy road and in front of you there is a vehicle emitting exhaust fumes. You have 3 options. 

1. You can remain behind the vehicle, complain and somehow bear with it. 

2. You can slow down or wait, allowing the vehicle to move far ahead. 

3. you can use your skill, overtake the vehicle and forget about it.

As in the first option, most of you stick on the events and are miserable, inhaling fumes throughout your journey. In the second option, you do not get permanent relief, as another bigger vehicle might move in front of you. Running away from events is not a permanent solution. 

Wise people use their skill to surmount the event. If your vehicle is in perfect condition, skill is effective. Conditioning the vehicle is sadhana, practice, and skill is the grace of the master. The mistakes you have made in the past have made you humble; you need not make mistakes in the future to become humble. If you pour water into a half-baked pot, the pot is ruined, and the water is also wasted. If the pot is well baked and strong, it will hold up whether you put water into the pot or put the pot into water. 

Focus sharpens the mind and relaxation expands the mind. Just an expanded mind without sharpness cannot bring holistic development. At the same time, just a sharp mind without expansion causes tension, anger and frustration. The balance of a focused mind and an expanded consciousness brings perfection. Sudarshan Kriya and the advanced course techniques aim at developing consciousness that is sharp and unbounded. Seva and commitment play a major role in this, as do the food you eat and your attitude in daily life. 

Expanded consciousness is peace and joy. Focused consciousness is love and creativity. A point of focused consciousness is individual self. When every atom of the expanded consciousness becomes sharp and focused, that is the awakening of Divinity.